


Reality Chronicles (Book 4)

by IntrestsoftheMind



Series: Reality Chronicles Arc 1 [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Friendship/Love, Humor, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-08-12 21:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 124,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7949467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntrestsoftheMind/pseuds/IntrestsoftheMind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The adventure hasn't ended; Soren, Alice, Gareth and Lily aren't finished yet, Owen is still out there and now that Soren knows how he's going to pull off he has to stop him...or...he would...if he could remember anything. Stuck in the world of Remnant without any memories of himself or his friends he has to trust in his new friends at Beacon to help him come back to who he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1 (Lost Memory)

Hello, my name is Mary; if you've come this far then it's safe to assume that you know everything up to this point but just in case I'd be happy to fill you in. It all started with a boy named Soren on earth who was your average kid, he went to school and had friends and played video games...but he held a personal pain. In order to help him overcome that pain I sent him to the world of Hyrule; there he met a girl named Alice who also held personal pain and together they were able to save Hyrule from the tyranny of Ganon and overcome their strife together. While on their journey they met a girl name Lissa and a mysterious cloaked man who tried to break them down but through their will and determination they were able to resist and make back home. This wasn't the end though, a few weeks later they were transported to the mushroom kingdom to save it from Bowser. While there they met another boy named Gareth who was another person from earth; while there they met the cloaked man and Lissa again as well as another boy named Damien who were out to once again take them out. Through it all Soren and Alice were able to once again able to save a world and go back to earth now with Gareth as their friend...and yet it still wasn't the end. A few months later all three of them were transported to the world of the first Final Fantasy to once again risk their lives to save it. While there they met with the cloaked man again; but this time they were helped by Lissa who betrayed him in order to help Soren, Alice and Gareth. With Lissa now part of their group they proceeded to travel the land and defeat the fiends of darkness. Eventually they learned of Lissa's ture name, Lily and geared up to finish their mission...and through all the pain and strife they once again were able to complete their task and even push back Owen, the cloaked man. All four of them had managed to stand against the creatures that had attacked them and overcome the pain they had carried around for so long...it's a fitting end to their adventure...and I wished it could have been...with all my heart I wish I could have let them live the rest of their lives in peace...but the adventure couldn't end their...it wasn't over...it isn't over yet. Let's start here, this should be the right place to start.

"It's tougher than it looks." Blake said as the Nevermore circled the tower they were standing near.

"Then let's hit it with everything we've got!" Yang replied readying her gauntlets. It was a heated battle with Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang taking on a giant Nevermore in a ruined tower structure while Juane, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora were taking on a Deathstalker on the nearby bridge. The first group shot as many rounds as they could into the Nevermore as it soared at them knocking the ruined tower apart forcing them to jump from debris to debris as they fell until they landed on solid structure. Meanwhile the second group ran at the Deathstalker as it destroyed the remains of the bridge they stood on, they struck at the hard shells front hitting smaller eyes and making the creature wail in pain; taking the opportunity Ren jumped up putting as many bullets as he could at the base connecting the tail and the golden tip. When he was thrown away the tail hung loosely from the tip; catching this fact Jaune signaled to Pyrrha who threw her shield at it disconnecting the two pieces and making the tip stab into the Deathstalker's head.

"Nora!" Jaune yelled and Nora moved forward jumping off Pyrrha's shield and landing on the Deathstalker's head with enough force to puncture the creatures brain and launch Pyrrha and Jaune over the bridge onto the grass and jumping to them as the bridge and Deathstalker corpse fell into the endless abyss below and with their creature defeated the team all fell over exhausted while Nora stood proud. Meanwhile the first group lured the Nevermore to the cliff and Weiss froze it there with her ice dust keeping it in place; Blake and Yang stood at two ends and Blake threw her ribbon that was caught by Yang. Ruby stretched the ribbon back with her scythe as Weiss set a glyph that held Ruby and the ribbon in place.

"Of course you would come up with this idea." Weiss said to Ruby as she held the glyph.

"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked.

"Hmph, can I."

"…Can yo-"

"Of course I can!" Weiss released the glyph and Ruby shot forward shooting rounds from her sniper rifle giving her momentum; she pulled the Nevermore into her scythe curving the blade around its neck and hit her feet against the cliff wall. Weiss then put a line of glyphs along the wall and Ruby ran along them shooting round after round as she dragged the Nevermore up the cliff; coming to the top she jumped and gave a strong pull cleaving the creatures head from its neck. Standing on top of the cliff Ruby stood there giving a low pant feeling tired from the energy she just used; looking down she saw her partners in combat look up at her and smiled.

"Seems they completed their initiation." Glynda said as she watched the students who had just taken out two large grim, "A little uncoordinated and…unorthodox by the look of things."

"That's what makes hunters and huntresses unique." Ozpin said taking a sip from his cup; looking down at his pad he smiled, as he looked something appeared out of the corner of the screen, "Glynda take a look at that." Ozpins tone became more serious and Glynda looked down seeing a strange tear where Ozpin had directed her look.

"What is that?" She asked and suddenly two figures burst through the tear, one clothed in a strange armor and long brown hair wielding a giant great sword, one clothed in a black coat with scruffy brown hair and wielding two longswords.

Soren

I pushed Jarek backwards into the grass which he slid into staying on his feet; I took a look around seeing we were near a crumbling structure in an open field and behind me were about…7 people and another on top of a giant cliff. Suddenly I felt something collide with my head and stumbled back feeling my mind go a little fuzzy as blood rushed down from my skull.

"Don't underestimate me." Jarek said with a dark chuckle.

"I don't…but I know I can beat you!" I replied charging forward.

"We'll see about that!" He stood and waited for me to approach obviously ready to counter; as I came close I slid to a stop directly in front of him, taking a swing he blocked it and I staggered backwards as he took the opportunity to counter attack. (Defense!) Pulling my other blade up I blocked the incoming attack and fell backwards from the force of his attack, rolling backwards I got back on my feet and jumped forward getting directly in his face, (Speed!) making quick swings I tried to catch him on his undefended sides but with his great sword he was able to block the brunt of my strikes. As I took every opening I could I felt my head begin to hurt and my vision became fuzzy for a moment making me stop; suddenly I felt another collision to my skull and fell to the ground dropping my swords, "Let's see you do anything without your head!" I rolled to the side as he plunged his sword into the ground; grabbing my closest blade I ignored the migraine currently making my vision darken and reeled back, (Power!) with a quick swing I sliced up Jarek's arm and felt a spray of blood and heard a loud grunt of pain as I collapsed to the ground feeling my mind try to tear itself apart with every heartbeat, "NGH!...Hmph, fine…you can die by their hands then." He pointed to his right and I looked to see strange black creatures begin to circle us, they looked to be about the size of bears, "Have fun." I watched as Jarek stepped back through the portal and it closed leaving me in the middle of a circle of bears. I looked out into the distance and saw the people from earlier start to run to help but the bears began to close in a bit quicker; they weren't going to make it in time, if I timed it right then the power and speed enhancements should still be active for another minute…but with the migraine I might be off by a few seconds. Grabbing my blades and ignoring the pulsing pain I stood in the middle reeling back both blades and holding my position; they closed in…closer…closer…now! Using every last ounce of strength I spun with all my might separating every creatures head from their body; as they seemed to disappear I fell to the ground feeling my strength completely depleted and my head throbbing uncontrollably.

"Are you okay?" I looked up as my vision turned from clear to fuzzy every few seconds catching only a few details; in front of me was someone with red hair and in strange patchy armor and next to her stood six others. Two with blonde hair, two with black hair and one with orange hair and the last one had white hair; they all had very unique clothing but I couldn't see their faces…or at least couldn't pick up anything in the few milliseconds between clarity and blurriness.

"I…think so…just a small concussion." I replied standing up woozily; I heard a relieved sigh and suddenly felt my legs give out as my vision faded to black and my consciousness faded.

Third-Person View

"What was that!?" Glynda asked obviously startled by the sudden appearance of two boys with strange skills and locked in combat; now all that was left was a boy who even after the beating was able to take out a circle of Ursas who was now unconscious and bleeding from the head.

"Glynda go grab the boy and take him to the infirmary."

"But Ozpin we don't know-"

"Trust me Glynda…I have a feeling that he's in more trouble than we are right now." With that Ozpin took another sip from his cup as Glynda walked off to go grab the boy.

"Is he dead?" Nora asked poking his cheeks.

"Nora!" Ren said shocked at her behavior.

"What? I'm just asking."

"He's weak and has blunt trauma to his skull but if we can get him some help he should be alright." Pyrrha said picking him up. Looking over his body she found a few cuts along his body and his clothing looked torn up and his head had definitely taken the worst damage, it was amazing he was able to stay conscious for as long as he did.

"Wait, don't just pick him up!" Weiss said making Pyrrha stop for a minute, "We don't know who he is. He could be an enemy for all we know."

"I don't know. If Ursa don't like him how bad can he be?" Yang said shrugging her shoulder and ruffling the boys hair, "Ew…there's blood in his hair."

"What happened?" Ruby asked running up to the group, "I was up on the cliff but I saw Ursa gather and then disappear a few seconds later."

"It was awesome!" Nora said getting excited, "One minute it was all swish swish clang pow and then there was a poof and then a swing followed by a slash!" Everyone gave her a confused look except Ren who just sighed.

"This boy took out a group of Ursa all on his own and then collapsed." Blake explained in simpler terms.

"He has a concussion right now so we have to hurry." Pyrrha explained beginning to walk again.

"That sounds great and all but how are we getting him up the cliff?" Juane asked pointing to the enormous cliff.

"We'll throw him up!" Nora suggested.

"I don't think he can handle being thrown." Blake said and then they heard a throat clearing sound and looked over to see Glynda standing a few feet away.

"I will take it from here children, please hand the boy to me." With that Pyrrah gave Glynda the boy and she walked away leaving the group standing there, "I would suggest you eight get back as quickly as you can. None of us want to lose new students so soon." With that they all headed for the cliff end ready to make their way up as Glynda walked away with the boy in her hands; as she walked the boy tossed and turned.

"Ngh…Alice…Gareth…Lily."

"Who is this boy…and why do I feel something strange holding him…some kind of…weight more than his own.

Eventually Glynda made it back to Vale where she put the boy into an infirmary bed leaving his care to the nurse on staff; before she left she looked back to see the boy had calmed down and was now sleeping peacefully. Glynda headed to Ozpin's office and as she rode up the elevator she looked over the footage captured from the fight between the two boys; as she watched it she took note of the sudden increase in speed and then power he attained throughout the battle and still had when he took out the Ursas. With a ding the elevator stopped at the top opening up to a large office with a bay window view spanning half the room and a clock-like floor; she entered the room and closed her scroll approaching the desk where Ozpin sat.

"The boy has been placed in the nurse's office for the moment. She said his condition wasn't too serious. The only thing that seemed wrong with him was a concussion, a few sword wounds and a heavy case of exhaustion. She said he should be awake by tomorrow." Glynda explained.

"Excellent, be sure to let me know when he has woken up. I would like to ask him some questions." Ozpin said and she gave a nod.

"Of course Ozpin...the students have been gathered and are waiting for you."

"Very well, then let's not keep them waiting then."

Ruby and the group stood in the attendance hall waiting for Ozpin; as everyone talked Blake stood against the wall in deep thought.

"Something wrong Blake? You look like you're about to fall asleep." Yang asked breaking her concentration.

"I was just thinking about the boy from earlier." She replied making the rest of the group look at her.

"The shady one we gave to Glynda." Weiss said being brutally honest.

"Weiss, we don't know if he's shady." Ruby said.

"He was wearing a lot of black." Juane said interjecting in the conversation.

"So does Blake." Yang said and Blake shot Juane a glare.

"Also I think only his gloves and coat were black." Pyrrha said adding to the conversation.

"Was it just me or was there something…similar about him and the person he fought?" Blake asked.

"Maybe they're working together." Weiss said coldly.

"Weiss!" Ruby said.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"I can't explain it but something felt…very similar about them." But Blake could place it, it was their scent, being a cat faunus she had enhanced smell but she couldn't tell them about it, they didn't even know she was a faunus. The boys scent was almost identical to the other boys which confused her to an extent she couldn't even explain; maybe it was just something she wasn't picking up…or something more to them.

"Maybe they're the same person!" Nora said and everyone sighed at her Noraisms.

"I don't think that's possible." Ren said, "I'm sure it's nothing."

"I hope." Blake replied but she knew it was something; her senses have never failed her before and she was sure that this was no fluke. As they talked the sound of someone tapping the mic could be heard over the voices quieting the room and making everyone focus on Ozpin at the stand.

"I would like to congratulate those who have retrieved the artifacts; you have taken your first step in becoming a hunter. We shall now group you based on the artifacts you collected during your initiation, as I'm sure you noticed the pieces you collected were chess pieces and they came in doubles. So our first group, the collectors of the black king pieces-" Ozpin went down the list pairing groups of two with other pairs creating groups of four with their own acronym for their team name, "The collectors of the white rook pieces; Juane Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren; you will be known as team JNPR (Juniper) lead by Juane Arc. Finally, the collectors of the white knight pieces; Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long; you will be known as team RWBY (Ruby) lead by Ruby Rose." Everyone gave a cheer and clapped for the new teams, "Looks like things are shaping up to be an…interesting year."

The next day was mellower and strangely filled with boring classes that seemed to have team RWBY and team JNPR's minds wandering through the day; Ruby was consumed in the glory and pep of being a leader while Weiss was more peeved and upset at the fact that Ruby was leader; Blake was consumed in the scent of the two boys while Yang was ready to fall asleep in her chair. Jaune was focused in Weiss, Pyrrha and Ren were the only ones actually paying attention while Nora made paper airplanes out of textbook paper. When the bell rang everyone met up at the entrance outside.

"It looks like we all have a free period." Yang pointed out, "Which means we have nothing to do for an hour and a half."

"So what should we do?" Weiss asked and everyone went into thought on how to spend it.

"Pankcakes?" Nora suggested at which Ren put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a head shake.

"…I heard the boy from yesterday was taken to the infirmary. We could go visit him." Pyrrha said and everyone looked at one another considering the idea.

"Well…I am kind of curious on how he is." Ruby said.

"I kind of want to find out how he took down those Ursas." Juane added.

"I suppose…it wouldn't be the worst thing to do." Weiss said looking away from the group.

"Then let's get moving." Yang said beckoning the group and they all started heading for the infirmary.

As they approached the infirmary they entered the building to find it mostly abandoned and with very little staff on sight.

"I don't think I want to be sent here." Weiss said amazed at the emptiness of the building.

"It's the beginning of the year, I'm sure this place fills up quickly when student injury is more common." Pyrrha said trying to alleviate Weiss's worry.

"I don't think student injury should ever be common." Weiss replied. They traveled through the halls seeing my empty and unmarked rooms until they came upon a room with a nameplate…but no name, it just read 'boy' and that was it.

"I think this is the room we're looking for." Ruby said putting her hand on the door handle; she turned it and opened the door into a silent room; the only sound that could be heard was a slow breathing coming from the boy in the hospital bed. They all looked over at the boy who was sleeping in the bed; a bandage was wrapped around his head where he had been bleeding from and next to him on the table was his clothes, neatly placed and smelling of fresh linen; they had obviously been cleaned and were patched up from what Pyrrha saw before. Blake moved over to the bed taking a small whiff and smelling the same scent from last time; she was right, they definitely had the same exact scent…but that's not possible.

"He's still out." Ren said sitting down at the nearby chair, "And it looks like he's not going to stir anytime soon."

"We could hit him till he gets up." Nora suggested reeling her fist back; before she could punch him Ren grabbed her fist before it hit his face.

"Nora, that didn't work for the boy in the village, I don't think it'll work here."

"Won't know till we try."

"Nora!"

"Fine, we won't hit him…for now." Blake walked up and put her hand to his forehead taking his temperature.

"…He's not running a fever…and his body doesn't look damaged anymore, he's been asleep for a whole day so it's weird that he hasn't woken up yet."

"So he's just being lazy?" Weiss said sounding annoyed.

"I don't think so Weiss. Maybe he just used too much energy against the Ursa." Ruby said trying to calm her anger.

"He must be an idiot then…idiot."

"Weiss you think everyone you meet is an idiot."

"That's not true."

"Yes you do." Blake said without batting an eyelash.

"Shut up! I just have high standards…they're not that high though."

"Yes they are."

"Blake shut up!"

"Ngh!" They all looked over in surprise as the boy in the bed began to rise, "Owww…" He sat up clutching his head and taking notice of the bandage he was wearing, "A bandage? Why do I feel…hng! Okay, deep thought, not my best move right now. This is definitely a concussion then…where am I?" He looked around at everyone with a confused look in his eyes.

"Looks like he woke up." Yang said trying to be funny.

"Can I still hit him?" Nora asked and the boy gave a surprised look at her question.

"So you're up." Weiss said getting into his face, "Before you ask any questions I want to know exactly what you're doing here!"

"Um…I don't…know?" He responded, "I just got up…I don't even know where I am."

"You're at Beacon Academy." Pyrrha answered.

"And…where is Beacon?"

"The kingdom of Vale." Ren answered.

"And…where is the kingdom of Vale?" They all gave a look of surprise at his question and his genuine confusion.

"A-Are you serious!? You don't know what kingdom you're in!?" Weiss said amazed at his lack of knowledge.

"Do you at least know your name?" Ruby asked and he went silent going into deep thought.

"…Soren…Soren Thain." He answered.

"All right then Soren." Weiss began, "Where are you from?" She asked and he went silent again.

"…I…I don't know…I can't remember."


	2. Chapter 2 (Beacon)

I sat in front of…Ozpin…I think that’s his name…Ozpin’s desk as he looked at me; behind me stood the one who came and got me from the infirmary, Glynda Goodwitch was her name and she had this cold stare that made me feel like I did something wrong…then again I don’t know what I’ve done…or where I am for that matter.  
“So.” Ozpin started talking and I sat up straight, “Why don’t you tell me your name young man.”  
“I’m…Soren Thain.” I responded halfheartedly.  
“You don’t seem so sure of yourself young man.”  
“No…I’m positive it’s my name it’s just…hard to remember myself…my name is the only thing that comes up. It feels weird not knowing who I am, that’s all.”  
“Very true. Now, would you mind answering a few questions? It’s okay if you can’t answer them all.” I gave a nod and Glynda walked over and pulled out a small pad; she expanded it and pushed it to me, “This is the video we recorded of your fight with the boy from earlier, do you know him?” I looked at the screen squinting to focus on the other person I was fighting.  
“…No…he feels familiar but other than that nothing.” I answered.  
“Alright then…that’s fine. Now I would like to know what you did during the fight.”  
“During the fight?”  
“Ozpin, he can’t possibly remember the fight if he can’t rememb-”  
“I used my dual blades; during the fight I realized I wasn’t going to best him in a power struggle, his great sword had me outmatched…so I went for a speed tactic. First I let him block my attack and stagger me, then I enhanced my defense and took his counter falling on my back; rolling backwards I then added a speed enhancement and dashed forward going for any openings I could hit. I couldn’t land solid blows because he was able to move his blade enough to block at least the brunt of my hits; at that point my head started to hurt so he took the opening and struck me again knocking me to the ground. As he tried to plunge I rolled to the side; luckily for me he plunged it too far into the ground to dislodge it giving me the perfect opening; grabbing one of my longswords I added my last enhancement power and swung up slashing along his arm. After that he ran and…then there were those bears…I waited for them to come close enough and used both my blades to cleave all of their heads off at once.” I looked up to see a surprised look on Glynda’s face and Ozpin with a confident smile.  
“So you know what you can do?” Ozpin asked.  
“I don’t know why but…there’s all this battle knowledge in my head…I fought before but whenever I think about past fight it all comes back as me fighting weird shadows…some large and some small.”  
“What about this earlier fight then?”  
“Like I said shadow figure and then bear. It’s not clear but I remember the movements and skills I used clear as day.”  
“Well then…what will you do from here?” From here…I have no memory of anything except battle and-  
“I have one question if I may.” Glynda said stepping forward.  
“While you were out you muttered three names in your comatose like state. Who are Alice, Gareth and Lily?” Hearing those names I felt my heart start to beat faster; I felt like I was happy just hearing their names…but…  
“I…don’t know…those names are the only other things that come in clearly; Alice Blair, Gareth and Lily Tesit. They feel important but I can’t remember any details…and that makes my heart ache.”  
“But as for what I’m going to do…I don’t know; I have no clue where I am or where to go.”  
“Well then.” Ozpin handed something to Glynda who handed it to me; it was a scroll, “We could always use another student at Beacon.”  
“Wait…what?”  
“If you would like we can enroll you into our freshmen year; you would be working solo but I can give you the authority to team up with teams of four if you would like.”  
“Wait…what!?”  
“Beacon Academy works to teach its students to protect humanity and ensure the protection of man from the grim.” Glynda explained, “We choose only the finest to join our academy.  
“Then…why me?” Ozpin slid the video from earlier in front of me.  
“You’ve shown the skill, the resourcefulness and the strength to handle yourself in combat against the strong and the many. We could always use another huntsman…what do you say?”  
“…I’ve got nowhere else to go…but I have one question. Where are my longswords?” When I asked that Glynda stepped forward and handed me two broken hilts.  
“They were destroyed when you took out the Ursas. Not surprising considering the material they were made of, a very rough steel that is easily breakable.”  
“Well I’m sure we have the materials in order to craft a new weapon for you.” Ozpin said putting his hand on my shoulder, “Glynda will show you where that is.” Glynda gave a nod and I stood up following her to the elevator, “I will see you later Soren and welcome to Beacon.” The doors closed and Glynda and I traveled down the elevator.

“Welcome to the weapon development room.” Glynda said showing me a large empty room chocked full of different gadgets and metals, “Normally this is where students would fix their weapons but there’s enough here that you can create a weapon from scratch if needed.”  
“Wow…are there any guides I could use as a base?” I asked and she pointed to a small stack of pamphlets to the side with all different types of weapon models; swords, knives, cleavers, axes, scythes…and guns?  
“I would recommend that you not only create a melee weapon but also a firearm. Most students employ both in combat so it would be best to learn both.” With that she walked away leaving me to work with whatever I could find; guess I should study up on what I can get away with.

Third –Person View  
“Alright team!” Ruby yelled getting pumped, “Our first training session as a team we will be dust practice!”  
“Dust practice?” Yang asked and Weiss pulled out a few chambers of dust all marked with different symbols; fire, ice, lightning and so on.  
“It was my idea.” Weiss explained, “I thought we should get a chance to learn the different ways we can use dust and how it can help us in combat.  
“But I don’t use dust.” Yang explained, “I only use dragon shot rounds.”  
“Well then you can sit this one out for right now.” Weiss said waving her away and she walked over sitting down on the grass with a content sigh.  
“Works for me.” She replied squirming to get comfy.  
“Well then Blake, show us what you can do!” Ruby said as Weiss handed her a dust cartridge with a wide array of dust variants in it; Blake clicked the cartridge into her blade and focused for a moment. She then began to leave shadows around but each shadow was a fully formed figure, one made of ice and one made of earth; other dust forms had a much more explosive after effect, “Wow that’s so cool.”   
“I can use the dust with my semblance in order to leave elemental shadows with their own effects.” Blake explained pulling out the now empty cartridge and handing it to Weiss.  
“You used a full cartridge of each dust variant on each shadow.” Weiss said in shock.  
“It’s still really cool.” Ruby said in a small tone, “Weiss it’s your turn! Show us something cool!”  
“Hmph, with pleasure.” Weiss replied as the chamber at her hilt began to spin; when it stopped her rapier was now covered in a red glow and emitted a small warmth showing it was currently using fire dust; she cycled through every chamber and even went back to a few chambers with a proud look on her face.  
“That was…that.” Ruby said obviously unimpressed which made Weiss pout.  
“At least I don’t use up a cartridge every time I use it!” She yelled defensively, “Why don’t you show us what you can do then ‘leader’.” She threw a few dust vials at Ruby who poured the content into one clip, “What are you doing!?”  
“I want to see what everything together can do!” Ruby said as she poured vial after vial.  
“It’s going to explode.” Blake said moving away from Ruby.  
“Let’s do this!” Ruby said pointing her sniper rifle at a nearby pillar; as the shot fired there was a loud explosion that sent Ruby flying backwards into a pillar as the pillar she fired at collaped, turned to ice and floated for a few seconds before crashing to the floor.  
“Idiot! Mixing dust is very dangerous!” Weiss said as Ruby stood up shakily; Ruby checked her rifle to see the barrel was destroyed.  
“I don’t think I’ll do that again.” Ruby said as she looked sadly at Crescent Rose.  
“You’d better not!” Weiss yelled.  
“I’m going to go fix my barrel, team practice over for the day!” With that Ruby ran off towards the weapon development room.

Soren  
So I can reduce what I carry by giving my weapon dual functionality…and by employing dust rounds I can give my firearm more implication…but with all the different types of rounds to choose from it becomes a question of what I want to hit my enemy with. Explosion, piercing or stun rounds, or I could go flash rounds…maybe blunt rounds…oh, or sticky rounds…that would make it awkward to reload though. As I contemplated my choices I heard the sound of a door opening and looked behind me to see a short girl in black and red standing at the doorway.  
“Oh, hello, I didn’t think anyone else would be here.” She said nervously, “I’m Ruby Rose…who ar-…oh wait! You’re that boy from the infirmary!”   
“…That’s right. You were one of the eight people there when I woke up.” I said remembering her black hair with hints of red, “I’m Soren by the way…or did I already tell you that?”  
“You did but that’s okay…I kind of forgot it.” We both laughed at our shared forgetfulness, “So why are you here?”  
“My longswords had been destroyed from before so Ozpin said I could use what I could find here to make another weapon.” I replied, “I’ve been learning about what I can do but there’s nothing here I can use to make sure I employ dust properly.” As I said that Ruby went into thought before reaching into her cloak pocket and handing me a pamphlet labeled ‘Dust for Dummies’.  
“Weiss gave me that but if you want to you can use it.” Ruby said with a smile.  
“From what I can tell it seems like she doesn’t think highly of you.” I said waving the pamphlet she gave me.  
“Maybe…but we’ll be BFFs before the end of the year. I know it.” I chuckled at her optimism finding it very comforting…and slightly…familiar…ow, “Are you okay?”  
“Yeah…just a little headache is all.” Pushing the…painful thought aside I opened the dust pamphlet and began to read it, “Dust is a useful tool in everyday life but it is not a toy. Dust should not be used for…yadda yadda yadda, dust can be implemented in weaponry in the following ways; bullet and weapon coating- here we go.”  
“Hey do you know where the sniper rifle barrels are?”  
“Umm…I think there over there next to the shotgun barrels.” I said pointing to my right, “While your there could you grab me a pistol barrel?” I looked over to see Ruby routing through piles of different sized gun barrels and picking one up she tossed it at me; fumbling a bit on catching it I placed it down with the other pistol parts I had gathered; now all I need is a dust chamber and I should be good on fire arm…hopefully my melee weapon has enough kick.  
“Found it!” Ruby exclaimed holding up a long cylinder; dashing over next to me she began to take apart her…scythe-like sniper rifle as I put together my pistol. Let’s see…this piece goes here, that piece goes there…wait…that piece goes after this one…okay take that out, put this in, then put that back in and good. Now that piece…wait…is that the right piece? Damn it, alright…that goes there and then this should click here, ‘CLICK’ good; now screw that on, place that there and done, “That took you a while.” I looked over to see Ruby had already taken apart and put back her gun in the time I put on together…I’m guessing she was sitting there for a while to.  
“At least it’s together.” I said waving it around proudly; she snickered and then pointed to the table and I looked to see the dust cartridge was still there; I forgot a piece, “Back to square one I guess.”

It took an hour but I had finally finished my pistol AND put the dust cartridge in correctly; thanks to Ruby I was able to put it together quicker than it took to take it apart; I guess I’m not that good with firearms. She also recommended her preferred bullets for my gun, the piercing rounds but…I don’t think I can be that accurate…but maybe those rounds would work…or I could do that.  
“Thanks for the help Ruby. You definitely know your way around a gun.” I said as I found a holster for the pistol.  
“Oh stop it you’re too much.” Ruby replied turning red from the compliment.  
“Ruby, are you still in here?” We looked over to see a girl with blond hair followed by two other girls, one with white hair in a side ponytail and the other in black hair reaching the middle of her back, “Hello strange boy sitting next to my sister.”   
“Yang this is Soren…the boy who was in the infirmary.” Ruby explained as they walked over.  
“Oh…well then hello Soren. Why are you sitting next to my sister?”  
“Um…she sat next to me?”  
“Sure she did.” Yang said nudging my shoulder.  
“Yang!” Ruby yelled throwing a spare bolt at her head.  
“So you’re the boy who woke up?” The girl with white hair asked…that voice…  
“And you’re the girl who called me an idiot.” I said and she gave a small look of shock, “The first thing I heard when I began to wake up was the word idiot from your voice.”  
“That’s…weird.” Ruby said.  
“Well he’s awake…and creating weapons.” Blake said looking at my pistol.  
“Yeah…my longswords were destroyed so I’m making a new weapon.” I answered.  
“And Ozpin is okay with this!?” Weiss said in shock, “He’s letting some stranger make weapons!?”  
“Well if I’m going to be a student here then I’m going to need to be able to fight when needed.” As I said that they all went silent and they all had a shocked look on their faces, “What?...Is something wrong?”  
“Ozpin let you join Beacon!? Is he insane!?” Weiss said in pure shock.  
“This is definitely one of his crazier decisions.” Blake added.  
“But all the teams were picked already. What does that make you?” Yang asked as I looked over different metals.  
“Apparently I’m able to join any team I choose at any time so I guess that’s how it works.” I answered picking two long blades out of the pile…I was going to need to craft my own hilts for what I’m thinking.  
“You should join our team then!” Ruby said getting over excited, “Then we’ll be Team RWBYS.”  
“One Ruby is enough for me thanks.” Weiss said shaking her head.  
“Well I can help out if I choose. Once everything is set.” I replied.  
“Speaking of set, we have one more class.” Blake said pointing to their schedule; I looked up at the clock to see it was almost four in the afternoon, “And then dinner.”  
“We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry!” Weiss said and they all ran out the door.  
“We’ll see you later Soren!” Ruby said waving goodbye which I returned.  
“Ruby!”  
“I’m coming Weiss.” Interesting girls… they seem kind of familiar…better not dwell on it too much; I think another headache is too much for me right now…but I have a great idea.

…  
“S…r..”  
…  
“..ore…!”  
…  
“SOREN!!!”   
“Gah!” I shot up and whipped my head around to see Glynda looking down at me; I looked around to see I was still in the weapon development room from last night.  
“Have you been here all night?” Glynda asked and I looked at the clock to see it was 8:30 in the morning; I guess I must have passed out after I finished my weapons, “What is this?” She picked up my sheathed blade and took it out examining my weapon, “It’s light…but it has two blades?”  
“Yep, I like to call it a quadruple edged blade.” I responded.  
“It’s…unique…but seems to lack something.” Glynda said sheathing my blade and setting it down, “I’ll be intrested to see how it works in a match.”  
“What?”  
“You have a class at 9 with Mister Port and then you’ll have a class at 11 with me, during which I want you to call me Miss Goodwitch, I expect you to volunteer for a match during my class. After that you’ll have lunch and then a free period, and then your last class is at 3:30 with Mister Oobleck. If you don’t want to be late then I suggest that you head for class now.”  
“Crap! I’ll so you later Glynd-” She glared at me before I could even finish, “Miss Goodwitch.”  
“Very good, now move along Soren Thain.” I opened the door and stepped out into the courtyard; the sunlight was bright and the air smelled fresh, this definitely felt like an enjoyable environment. I looked at my scroll to see it was now 8:45; I was going to need a map, maybe my scroll had a map…how do I use this thing?  
“Excuse me.” I looked up to see a girl with red hair in a ponytail and giving me a gentle smile, “You seem to have a pensive look on your face, is something the matter?”  
“Oh, sorry for worrying you, I just don’t know how to use my scroll.” She gave a small laugh, “Hey.”  
“Sorry it’s just…I know someone who’s having the same problem. Would you like some help?”  
“I’m sure I can figure it out…but could you help me find the map of the campus on my scroll?”  
“Sure. All you have to do is press application and then map.” She pressed her finger to my scroll opening up application and then pressed an app called Bec. Map opening up to a full map of the school, “And that’s all there is to it. If you need anything else just ask but most of what you need is in your app library.”  
“Thanks, I’m Soren by the way. What’s your name?” She gave a small look of surprise and then smiled.  
“Pyrrha Nikos. Wait…are you Soren Thain?”  
“Yeah how did you know?”  
“I was in the hospital room when you woke up.”   
“Oh right! I remember seeing your red hair. Good to see you again…for the first time.” We both laughed and I looked at the clock to see it was now 8:55, “Oh no. Do you know how to get to Mister Ports classroom. I’ve only got five minutes!” I showed her the clock and she gave a small gasp.  
“I’m headed there to; we should make it if we run. Follow me!” I followed behind Pyrrha and we dashed through the halls; as we passed through I looked around to see some people had animal ears and tails in. Eventually we made it to a door and Pyrrha opened it and I looked inside to see an audience hall; it had a collage vibe to it that made it feel serious…where did that come from?  
“I’m glad to see you made it on time Pyrrha.” The teacher at the front said.  
“Sorry Mister Port.” Pyrrha said with a bow.  
“And who is the boy next to you?” He asked motioning to me, “I don’t believe I’ve seen him before.”  
“This is Soren Thain.” Pyrrha replied.  
“Hey…I’m joining your class.” I said as everyone looked at me and I felt my face go red; this might be too much attention. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Ruby and her team looking at me and Ruby waving at me; oh thank god, familiar faces.  
“Soren…ah yes, the boy who took out ten Ursas. Truly a feet worthy of a huntsmen, why I remember when I took on a nest of Nevermores single handedly!” Everyone gave a groan and I decided to take a seat next to Weiss and a blond haired boy, Pyrrha sat on the other end of the blonde boy; Mister Port continued to tell his story that seemed to drone on and on, the blonde boy seemed to stare at me out of the corner of my eye and I looked over to see it was true.  
“Um…is something wrong?” I asked him.  
“Are you the boy from the hospital?” He asked and I nodded.  
“And I’m guessing you were in the room with everyone else when I woke up?”  
“That’s right!”  
“Gah!” Suddenly an orange haired girl was in front of me…but upside down, “How are you doing that?” I looked behind me to see she was standing on top of the desk behind me; in the seat next to her was a boy in black hair shaking his head.  
“Nora, sit back down.” Ren said and Nora sat back in her seat quickly, “Sorry about that she’s…excitable.”  
“Oh Ren, you’re so funny.”   
“That’s my team.” The blonde boy said, “And so is Pyrrha.”  
“Hello again.” Pyrrha said waving to me.  
“I’m Jaune. Jaune Arc, short sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it.”  
“Really?” I looked at Nora who gave a wavy hand gesture while Weiss looked over and gave a piercing glare that just screamed ‘NO’ and Pyrrha looked down at her notes focusing very intently on her book refusing to look up and answer.  
“So you took out ten Ursas at once. How did you do it?”  
“Well I don’t exactly remember the details but I still had a boost of speed and power that I used at just the right moment to make sure I took out all of them at once and seeing how it destroyed my blades I’m glad I timed it well.”  
“Boost?” Weiss asked looking over.  
“Yeah I can boost my base strength, defense and speed at a moment’s notice.”  
“Really?” Ren asked.  
“Yeah but it only last for about five minutes at most.”  
“That’s an interesting semblance.”  
“Semblance? No it’s magic.” Everyone looked over at me as I said magic.  
“You can do magic!? Can you pull a lien form my ear?” Nora asked.  
“It’s not that kind of magic.”  
“That’s impossible.” Weiss said, “Magic isn’t real.”  
“Don’t be a stick in the mud Weiss.” Yang said.  
“Isn’t that her normal attitude?” I heard Ruby whisper to Yang.  
“Magic has only been mentioned in fairy tales. It’s not something that is taken very seriously.” Blake said, “Are you sure it’s not your semblance?”  
“What’s semblance?” I asked and Pyrrha cleared her throat.  
“Semblance is the projection of a person’s true self. It shows the true power of a person by projecting itself through a person’s aura.” Pyrrha explained.  
“Wait…you can control your aura?”  
“You can’t?”   
“No. I can read aura but controlling my own is a bit of an issue.” That would explain why everyone had such intense aura around me; as I thought I felt Juane but his arm around me in sympathy.  
“It’s okay I know how you feel.” …Weird.  
“So you have no aura protection?” Ruby asked.  
“I don’t even know what that is.” I heard a sigh from Weiss who looked back down at the front where Mister Port was still telling his Nevermore story, “So aura?”  
“Aura is a force field.” Jaune said.  
“Not the explanation I was expecting.” I said with a chuckle.  
“Aura protects and strengthens hunters.” Pyrrha explained, “It also allows us to use dust and semblance but that comes later, your scroll can also gauge your aura.” I pulled out my aura and opened the application labeled ‘aura’ to see my face with a small bar under it; the bar was completely empty and flashing.  
“Yeah I don’t have that.” I said with a sigh, “How did you guys get that?”  
“Training.” Weiss said.  
“Street fights.” Yang replied.  
“Growing up.” Blake said.  
“Lightning!” Nora said and I chuckled.  
“She’s not kidding.” Ren added making me stop laughing.  
“I had mine unlocked by Pyrrha.” Juane said pointing to Pyrrha next to him.  
“Unlocked…how does that work?”   
“One person’s aura can be unlocked by someone who already controls their own aura. It takes a small toll on the person.” Ren explained.  
“If you want I could unlock it for you.” Pyrrha offered to me.  
“No it’s okay; I don’t want to cause any problems, besides I just met you guys. I’m sure I can figure it out.”   
“And that’s when I gave a resounding howl of victory frightening all grim within a ten mile radius!” He was still telling his story!? It’s almost 10:30!  
“How long are his stories?”  
“I’ve only had two classes but the last one was almost the entire class period.” Weiss responded watching the virtual clock on her desk top as the minutes ticked by. Guess I could try to channel aura while I wait; alright…if I can sense aura then I should be able to channel it…where did I learn to channel it though…I hate having gaps in my memory…or in this case a full whole. Concentrate…with everyone else their auras seem to push every ounce of itself all over the exterior of a person; if I can push my aura out of my body then it should try to surround my body…and hopefully not turn me into a soulless zombie. Alright…deep breaths…in…out…and…OUT! I suddenly heard two separate crashes and looked to see Juane and Weiss had been pushed out of their chairs; I looked to see everyone was looking up at us with confused looks on their faces; even Mister Port had stopped his story to look at me.  
“Um…sorry, that was me.” I said scratching the back of my head.  
“What did you do!?” Weiss yelled standing up with an angry look on her face.  
“I just tried expelling my aura...I might have gone a little overboard.”  
“A little!?”  
“I’d agree that was more than a little Juane said looking a little woozy.  
“Honestly you’re almost as bad as Ruby!” Weiss yelled pointing at Ruby who looked slightly giddy.  
“Yay! A kindred spirit!” Ruby said giving me a thumb up that honestly didn’t make me feel better; suddenly the bell rang and I looked at Weiss’s clock to see it was 10:45.  
“That’s all the excitement for now students be sure to study up on the materials we covered today.” With that Weiss stormed out of the room in a huff.  
“Congratulations, you’ve aggravated Weiss within the first few minutes of extended conact with her.” Yang said punching me in the arm playfully but with WAY more strength then I was expecting from her.  
“It’s okay Soren. I had the same problem.” Ruby said with a strange smile on her face, “It’s like we were cut from the same cloth.” I’ve been getting too much sympathy lately.

Finding a stray…lien on the ground I decided to check out one of the school vending machines, it was full of different drinks but a strange drink called ‘Grim’ caught my attention; making my purchase I heard a small fizzing sound come from the can; I guess it was a type of soda. Looking at my clock I saw it was 10:35; I have ten minutes before class…I should practice with my aura before heading to Glynd- Miss Goodwitch’s class…man why did I get a chill down my spine just then? Alright, I can expel my aura but it just seems to gather back in me…maybe I could try channeling it into a propelled force…no I need a shield before I can do that. I just have to propel it and then as it regroups I have to hold it so it creates a field over my body; propel…hold…hold…h-hold…ow! I felt a force rocket through my body knocking me to the ground; my aura is way to intent on staying inside my body. I popped the top to my drink and suddenly the liquid shot forward out of the can; geez, maybe I shouldn’t have propelled my aura with a soda in my hands.  
“Ahh!” I heard a girls scream and looked over to see Weiss had been drenched by my soda shot…about seven feet away, “What in the world…you!” As she pointed to me I dropped the can I was holding as it made a hollow empty sound clattering to the sound, “Is this supposed to be funny to you!?”  
“No! I didn’t mean to hit you at all I swear…although seven feet shot is impressive.” I replied.  
“Are you an idiot!? I’m covered in sticky soda because of you.”  
“Sorry…I realized a bit too late that propelling aura with a soda in my hands isn’t the smartest move I could have made.”  
“So you are an idiot.”  
“Look I said I was sorry. Can’t we let bygones be bygones?” I outstretched my hand to her and she stormed away in a huff; that didn’t go so well…I should probably head to class, no telling what Miss Goodwitch will do if I’m late for my first class with her. 

Stepping into the class room I looked around impressed by the ring in the center that had seat all around it; this room was definitely a room for sparring…and the first place I was going to test out my new weapon…I feel like it needs a name…maybe…Twin Soul…I’ll think of something better later. I took a seat next to Ruby and noticed that Weiss seemed to be missing from the group.  
“Where’s Weiss?” I asked Ruby and she looked around confused with a shrug.  
“I don’t know. She said she was going to get something to drink before she came to class but she’s been gone longer than I expected.”  
“So that’s why she was there.”  
“What? Did you do something?”  
“I…may have accidently sprayed her with a soda.” I said scratching the back og my head embarrassed.  
“Ohhh, pretty soon you’ll become a nuisance.”  
“I’m not sure I like being compared to you on how much I’ve screwed up.” I replied as she giggled creepily.  
“Step into my cult.” I gave a small chuckle and heard a throat clearing sound; we looked down to see Glynda was in the center of the ring.  
“It’s time for class children. I would like to start off the class with a sparring match with our newest student; Soren if you would please come down.” That was quick; I stood up grabbing my sword and jumped down to the ring, “Now Soren, as you currently have no aura I’m implementing a one hit system for the moment.”  
“One hit system?”  
“Instead of gauging your aura I’ll keep an eye on you. When you take damage that could cause you to suffer bodily harm I will call the match.”  
“So…after I take one solid hit I’m out?”  
“Precisely.” I’d better have a good focus on defense if I want to win a match, “Now as we are using that system I will choose your combatant.” As she looked over the room the door burst open and Weiss was standing there panting; she looked like she just run a marathon, “Miss Schnee, it’s good to see you’ve shown up for class.”  
“Sorry I’m late Miss Goodwitch. I ran in with this rif-raf who- you!” She gave a glare of pure rage as she pointed at me, “You owe me for those clothes you ruined!”  
“I don’t have any money.” I replied in shock, “How do you expect me to pay you back?”  
“Miss Schnee.” Goodwitch said making both of us look at her, “Thank you for volunteering to be his first sparring opponent.”  
“What!? Her?”  
“That’s fine with me.” Weiss said walking down to the ring.  
“Wait…don’t I get some say in this?”  
“Now as even though this is a sparring match I want you two to put everything you have into the match.”  
“I guess not.” When Weiss made it down to the arena she stood at the other end as I was pushed by Goodwitch to the other end; Weiss pulled out her rapier and got into a fencer’s stance; I pulled out my blade and gripped it with both hands getting into a battle stance I felt comfortable in.  
“If both combatants are ready then we will begin in a few seconds.” This was going to be interesting, I’ve haven’t had time to practice or see what these other people are capable of in combat; guess I have to rely on what I can observe during the fight, “And begin!”


	3. Chapter 3 (First day)

"And Begin!" Weiss shot forward at me and I crouched down pulling my blade up to block her thrust; as the blow hit my blade I felt my arms vibrate slightly from the impact of her blow; taking the advantage I moved my blade under her rapier and pushed it up. As I thrust in to catch her in the chest she back flipped out of the way and pushed her hand forward; as she stood there I looked around me hearing a small humming, looking down I saw a strange pattern under my feet. I was then shot into the air losing all sense of control as I flailed; I looked to see Weiss had jumped into the air and was shooting strange light blue orbs at me; swinging at each orb that came at me I shot them back at Weiss who gracefully dodged each return shot. Taking the opportunity I pulled out my pistol from its holster and shot directly at Weiss; it hit her knocking her back and onto the ground, when I finally landed back on the ground I rushed forward and as Weiss stood up I took a swing and knocked her into the far wall. She stood up and gave me a cross look as she dashed in and began hacking and slashing at me; looks like that rapier had more than to it than just thrust; I blocked every hit I could making sure I didn't take a direct blow from any of her attacks only ending up with small nicks on my body and face. Guess I should switch tactics pushing Weiss back I separated my blade in two making twin longswords; I attached the hilts turning it into a double bladed staff; she gave a small look of surprise and dashed forward continuing her assault…but with very little improvement; with my blade now in a staff I was able to spin it and catch every one of her attacks making it impossible for her to hit me and I was even able to counter attack a few times on her sides and legs. She backed up and I could see her pant in exhaustion.

"You're not bad Weiss." I commented separating my staff into two longswords.

"I'll admit you have some skill. But I think it's time I finished this fight!" She extended her two fingers and I watched as a bunch of symbols had circled around me; as I watched I suddenly felt my legs go cold and looked to see my feet had been encased in ice bounding me to the ground, crap I'm stuck! I looked to see Weiss had positioned herself on one of the glyphs and was ready to shoot herself at me; I blocked her attack and she jumped off my blade landing on one of the other symbols and doing it again, eventually she had positioned herself directly behind me and was ready to hit me in the back, grabbing my pistol I shot a stun round at Weiss but saw she stayed glued to her symbols; all I did was by a few seconds…but maybe that's all I need! I put my first pistol away and pulled out my second one shooting at the ice around my feet as with each bullet it exploded shattering the ice; I rolled to the left as Weiss flew through where I was just standing. Standing up I held both my blades as she rushed at me and knocked into my blades; before she could jump off them I grabbed her by the leg and swung her into the ground, as I went down for a swing she back rolled onto her feet and I took a second swing with my other blade and hit her sending her skidding back. When she regained composer she shot a small orb at my hand making me drop my right blade; she then went in for the thrust again but I blocked it with my left blade but felt as we were both pushed over with her on top of me. Kicking her off I reached for my second blade and looked over to see her small chamber in her blade spin; when it stopped she gave a spin and struck the ground as a line of fire rushed at me. Reconnecting my blades I sheathed it and ran forward towards the fire and jumped over it crashing into Weiss as I pulled out my blast round; face to face with her I shot the round at her chest and felt an explosion sending me reeling to the ground as it did the same with Weiss.

"That's the match." Goodwitch said as I stood up dusting myself off, "The outcome is a draw."

"A draw?" Weiss asked with a pant as she stood up.

"While it is true that Mister Thain depleted Miss Schnee's aura the blast round he used caused enough damage to leave a burn mark on his fingers." Goodwitch pulled my hand showing they were browned and touching them making a stinging sensation force me pull them back in pain.

"Yeah…I guess it wasn't my smartest move." I said with a chuckle and Weiss gave me a cross look.

"I would suggest getting more practice with your pistol and ammunition before trying something so bold." Goodwitch said looking disappointedly at me, "Although…that wasn't bad for your first match at Beacon."

"Thank you Glynd-" She shot a glare at me as I said that, "-M-Miss Goodwitch…sorry." She gave a sigh and I watched as Weiss walked back to her seat next to Blake.

"Now who would like to spar next?" As I sat back down in the wings I watched as all the other students took their turns sparring against each other and I was impressed to see how every sparring match was different with how each person used dust, weaponry and guns in combat to gain the upper hand and even more impressed with how some used those very things against their enemies. Out of everyone I watched two of the students made big impressions; Pyrrha who was obviously the best of the bunch with her skill speed and resourcefulness and her complete opposite Jaune who could barely handle the simplest of opposition; it was like he never fought before in his life, "That's all for today class. Be sure to keep up with your practice and perfect your strategies." I stood up and as I began to walk out I felt someone grab the scruff of my jacket dragging me out.

"We need to talk." I looked to see Weiss was the one dragging me by my jacket; this was going to be interesting.

Eventually I was dragged to a bench and she pushed me down onto it standing and looking at me.

"So how about you explain yourself."

"What do you mean?" I asked and I felt her knock me upside the head.

"You know what I mean! You used blast rounds to get yourself out of my ice; you knew they had a blast radius that could hurt you. Only an idiot would do a close range shot with those bullets and from what I can tell you aren't an idiot…at least not in combat. So spill it, NOW!" She put her rapier to my throat; geez she was threatening…why do I have the feeling this isn't the first time this has happened?

"Alright! Just please don't stab me. I wanted to apologize for the aura blast…and soda spray but I didn't want to just hand it to you so…I decided a draw would make both of us happy."

"You think that will make me feel better!? I don't want to be pitied; especially by you!"

"Alright…then how about this." I stood up and stretched out my arms, "Hit me."

"What!?"

"Go ahead. If it will make you feel better you can hit me as much as you want. Isn't that what you wanted during the sparring match? Well go ahead."

"A-A-Are you braindead!? Who just let's somebody else hit them!?" As I watched her face it became redder and redder with every word.

"Well I just thought it might make you feel better. Won't it?"

"W-Well not anymore. Look at your fingers." She said grabbing my hand and showing my brown fingers, "That's just from your own bullet. I don't want to leave marks, I'm not a monster."

"Sorry…how about this, when I finally master aura I'll let you beat me up to your hearts content until I can't be protected by my aura."

"What kind of idiot let's someone else beat them up!?"

"Well I hate when there's tension between two people. Especially when it's between me and someone who's actually really nice."

"N-Nice!?'

"Yeah. I can see your aura and I can sense something caring inside you. I'm sure you're a nice person and I don't want to keep this tension between us. Besides, you've got some awesome skills, who wouldn't want to be friends with a girl like you." Suddenly she gave a sigh.

"You'd be surprised."

"Well I want to be our friend. Besides I'm sure you're really sweet when someone gets to know you."

"Wha- how- you can't- argh!" Suddenly she stomped forward and slapped me across the face, "Who just says stuff like that out of nowhere!? It's completely insane to think you would say all of that out of nowhere! What do you think you'll gain by saying these things!?" What do I think I'll gain?

"I don't know." I said with a smile and she hit me on the head, "Can you stop hitting me?"

"You don't know!? What does that mean!?"

"It means I'm just saying what comes to mind. Everything you've heard from me is the honest truth." As we stood in silence she gave a sigh.

"You really are an idiot. Nobody ever just says what comes to mind…but I suppose that's not too bad sometimes." She then looked at me, "Alright, I'll be your friend…but under one condition."

"What?"

"Can…Can I slap you one more time…I swear it will be the last time…for today at least." I chuckled at her request and she turned slightly red.

"Sure, your choice of cheek." I replied.

"Close your eyes…and keep the closed until I say so." I closed my eyes and felt a hand on my left cheek and one on my chest, "Keep them closed!" She caught me before I even tried; I felt the beating of my heart…and the pulsating feeling of…something else; suddenly there was strange warmth that surrounded my body, "Whew…okay…you can open them." When I opened them I looked to see Weiss had a tired look on her face.

"Are you okay?" I asked and as I extended my hands I saw a strange black aura had surrounded my body in a glow…my aura! I looked over my body to see my wounds had been healed and the burns were gone, "Weiss…did you-" As I asked she suddenly slapped me on my left cheek.

"There, I feel much better." She said strutting away.

"Weiss…thanks." She stopped for a minute before continuing to walk she really was a good person.

At lunch I sat with team RWBY and JNPR enjoying the first food I've had since…I can't remember when the last time I ate…not too surprising but this is the first meal I've had since I got here, I was going to enjoy every- 'hack'!

"Don't swallow the bone!" Weiss said as I tried to pull out the chicken wing bone currently stuck in my throat; Yang slapped my back making me cough up the bone onto the plate.

"Thanks Yang." I said and I continued to dig into the massive amount of food currently on my plate.

"That's a lot of food." Ruby said looking at my plate.

"I've eaten more." Nora said grabbing the pecan pie off my hoard.

"So I have a question." I said in between bites of food, "What's with the animal traits on some of the students?"

"You don't know about faunus?" Blake asked surprised and I shook my head grabbing the banana and peeling it open.

"So what's a faunus?"

"Faunus are people just like you and me that have animal traits to them; faunus are known to have night vision and an animal trait to their bodies. Some have claws, some have tails and some have ears."

"So what makes them different from other people?" As I asked this question Blake gave me a small smile as I said that.

"Nothing." She replied with a slightly happier tone in her voice, "Faunus are no different from anyone else."

"Except for those radicals in the White Fang." Weiss added with an angry tone in her voice.

"White Fang?"

"There just a radical faunus group trying to get equality through violence."

"Oh…well I'm sure not all faunus are like that. After all there are faunus here; they seem okay."

"Sure but…those faunus in the White Fang are just unforgivable." Weiss was very passionate about this matter; it's kind of freaky.

"Let's move onto another topic, this is killing my appetite…hey!" I looked back at my platter to see it was about half the hoard it was before, "Nora!" Looking over I could see Nora with cheeks full like a chipmunk.

"If waf Ren." Nora said pointing to her left at Ren.

"Then why are your cheeks stretched farther than silly putty?"

"Huw dare you. I m a beufifle womn wif giant cheefs."

"…Yeah I got none of that."

Scarfing down the rest of my food I decided to take a look around the campus; it felt weird seeing a school this big, it was like a college in size…that reference again; every time I make a reference it feels weird because I have no clue what I'm talking about. All this general knowledge is in my head but I don't know if it's actually general knowledge and it's freaking me out!

"Ow!" That wasn't me; I looked over to see a boy picking on a girl, "Please stop, that hurts."

"Wow they're real, what a freak." He was pulling on her rabbit ears that protruded out of her head; she must have been a faunus.

"P-Please stop…i-it hurts. I-I don't like it!" That stuttering; before my eyes the faunus girl seemed to turn into a girl with medium length red hair and half framed glasses and holding a leather bound book…no, a journal…OW! As I watched I felt my blood boil and I dashed forward grabbing the boy by his shoulder; when he turned to me I socked him in the face making him let go of the girls ears, he looked back with an angry look and grabbed me by my collar lifting me up.

"Don't get involved in things that don't concern you." He reeled back his fist and I reeled back my foot kicking him directly between the legs making him squeal and let go of me, "Cheap shot." He grabbed me by my leg and made me fall to the ground on my back; as I tried to stand up I felt the boy put his boot to my chest keeping me down, "Wait…you're that kid who took out the ten ursa in the forest. Well you're going to wish they had finished you off after I'm done with you." I looked over at the faunus girl and as she looked in fear she flickered between herself and the red haired girl and that scared look made me feel even angrier.

"Like hell! I won't let you hurt her!" I yelled back and grabbed his foot with both my hands throwing it to the side as he lost balance; standing back up I pulled out Twin Soul and pointed it at him, "Leave her alone."

"Mr. Thain!" Crap, I looked behind me to see Goodwitch standing there, "If you want to test your skills I suggest you do it during my class rather than in broad daylight here."

"Sorry Miss Goodwitch. I saw this boy picking on this girl and my body seem to move on its own."

"Regardless of your reasons I would prefer you don't start a fight here." As she scolded me I could hear the boy chuckling behind me, "And Mr. Winchester. It seems your last detention didn't improve your attitude so let's see how the next week of detention improves it." I gave a small inner cheer and smiled at Goodwitch who handed me a slip of paper, "I actually came looking for you, this is your locker; we ask that our students keep their weapons there instead of on them at all times."

"A locker?" I looked at the slip to see the number 429 scrawled on it.

"Yes but these lockers can be brought to a scrolls location based on a six digit code. I advise you don't use your birthday as the code. Good day children and try to stay out of trouble."

"Yes Miss Goodwitch." I replied as she walked away; I felt someone suddenly stomp into my foot and looked to see Winchester.

"This isn't over. I'll see you later." With that he left me as I rubbed where he had grinded his heel into; as I rubbed my foot I saw a shadow behind me with rabbit ears and looked to see the faunus girl looking down at me.

"A-Are you okay?" She asked and I stood up.

"Yeah just a bruise. What about you?"

"Oh I'm fine. He didn't do anything to me that left a mark."

"Yeah but that was probably what he was going for." As I looked at the faunus girl she gave me a gentle smile, "Sorry about the trouble. You just…reminded me of someone I know."

"Really? Who?'

"I…don't know."

"Oh…well okay. I'm Velvet by the way. Velvet Scarlatina. Member of team CFVY"

"I'm Soren Thain and team is interchangeable."

"Aren't you the boy who took out the ten ursa?"

"I think I need a better reputation than that."

"Not at all. That's actually pretty impressive."

"Well thanks…if that guy ever bothers you let me know, I'll be sure to set him straight."

"Oh you don't have to do that Soren…you sound like Coco. Oh right, it was nice to meet you Soren but I've got to go." Velvet gave me a bow and rushed off.

"Okay, see you later Velvet." I waved back and heard a beep from my scroll; opening it I saw I was getting a call from Ruby, "Hello?"

"Where are you? It's two minutes to class and you're not here."

"Oh crap! I'll be there soon!" Ending the call I looked at the map to see Oobleck's classroom was about five minutes away; this school was way to big…hopefully I can make it in two. Dashing forward I rushed down every short cut I could fine and weaved through crowds of people until I bursted through the doors into Oobleck's class and heard a bell chime; good, I made in on time…I need to sit down though. I looked around seeing Ruby and the others were there…but the teacher was strangely absent, "Where's Mister Oobleck?" I asked Ruby.

"It's Doctor Oobleck actually." I jumped slightly and looked behind me to see a man with green hair holding a coffee mug, "You must be my new student. Now I've heard your memory is foggy but I will expect you to pay attention and learn because it is in history that we learn from our mistakes."

"Kind of weird considering my history is missing." I replied with a chuckle.

"Well then we'll have to fill it with our history." He took a quick sip from his coffee mug and turned into a blur as he dashed down to the blackboard, "Now let's begin! Today we'll be discussing the kingdoms of Remnant." As he talked he dashed from one end of the blackboard to the other and continuously asked questions with Pyrrha and Weiss answering a majority of them; I listened with intense interest in this world, "The four kingdoms of Atlas, Mistral, Vacuo and Vale, where we currently reside, have been around for years and they all stand as a testament to the willpower of mankind and the power we have gained through our continuous determination. Now can anyone tell me what the name of the war that threatened to tear humanity apart?" Pyrrha raised her hand, "Yes Miss Nikos."

"It was called the Great War. It was at the end of the war that humanity decided to come to peace in Vytal and establish the four kingdoms."

"Precisely! With the end of the war we were able to work towards connecting the four kingdoms and developing the CCTS." I raised my hand, "Yes Mister Thain?"

"What is the CCTS?"

"Ah yes, the Cross Continental Transmit System. The basis on which all kingdoms communicate with each other; with the four towers, one placed in each kingdom, we are able to stay connected as a kingdom. But if any of the towers are destroyed then all of Remnant will lose communication. For if we lose one kingdom we lose them all." Woah…with that question asked the bell rang suddenly startling me, "That's all for today, be sure to study up on the geography of each kingdom for tomorrow." I stood up and followed the rest of the group out of the classroom as I thought on the CCTS; four towers that work together to ensure that the world is connected; without all of the towers it is impossible for them to get anything done…like a team of towers all connected…without all of them it is impossible to do anything.

"Hey Soren?" I looked up to see Ruby looking at me, "Is something wrong?"

"No…just thinking on what Doctor Oobleck talked about in class."

"What about it?" Yang asked.

"Just how the CCTS only work as a group and can't work any other way. It's kind of a metaphor for hunters…or vice versa."

"…What?" Jaune said sounding confused.

"I think I get what you mean." Pyrrha said, "Alone we are only strong enough to stand on our own but in a group we can stand with all of humanity, protecting it from harm."

"That's exactly it."

"Enough talk!" Nora yelled jumping into the middle of the group, "I'm hungry and they're serving dinner so let's get moving." I heard a small rumbling from my stomach and realized that Nora was right.

"Yeah let's grab dinner. I'm still hungry because someone ate half my meal…Nora." She looked away giggling and everyone gave a short laugh.

"Come on. If we hurry we can still get the dessert with our meal before it runs out." Yang said and we all dashed to the cafeteria.

"So how was your first day at Beacon?" Ren asked as we all sat down at the table together.

"Well I learned a lot about the world and found out that- Nora back off!" Grabbing the piece of vanilla cake and keeping it out of Nora's ravenous reach, "-And found out that my prior combat knowledge and skill put me on par with at least Weiss." I saw Weiss give a slight 'hmph' at my comment and chuckled.

"Any memories come back?" Blake asked and I thought back to earlier when I met Velvet.

"I didn't have any memories come back…but I think my brain is trying to remind me of people. During the break in between lunch and Ooblecks class I ran into this guy picking on a faunus girl and when I saw the scared look on her face a girl with red hair and glasses took her place for a split second, the weirdest part was even as my brain seemed to suffer a migraine as I looked at that girl I couldn't help but feel my blood boil…it was like I was looking at someone I cared about being attacked and the next thing I know I'm punching the guy picking on her.

"Ohhh…sounds like you had an interesting break." Yang said nudging me in the arm, "So who was this girl? A girlfriend?"

"…No it felt more like I was saving a little sister…as much as I'm sure it disappoints you Yang it wasn't the flames of passion and romance that made me act violent."

"Lame."

"So who was this girl?"

"I don't know but I have the feeling…that she's very important to me…but I don't know why. I felt like she was a little sister but she didn't look at all like me."

"Was there anything about her that caught your eye?" Blake asked and I was drawn back to the book I saw clutched in her hands tightly.

"She had a leather bound book. I think it was a personal journal though…there was no title on it." I said feeling the girl come into clearer and clearer detail as we discussed it, "That's all I've got though."

"So who did you save?" Ruby asked me changing the topic.

"It was a girl named Velvet… Scarlatina if I remember correctly and the guy picking on her was…something Winchester."

"Cardin Winchester." Pyrrha said coldly, "He's…not the nicest individual."

"That's an understatement." Blake added, "He's ignorant and prejudice against faunus. It's horrible."

"Well I feel better about hitting him now."

"Good enough to hand over the cake?"

"Back off Nora I got this fair and square!" I said pushing her back with my foot; when I got in line I had happened to get the last piece of cake and now Nora was out to take what I had earned.

"So why did this girl pop up?" Jaune asked and I had to think about it before I could answer.

"…I think it was her attitude. Her stuttering and shy attitude seemed to trigger something in my brain and she appeared." But now that I discussed her with these guys every detail of her was etched in my brain; even an outfit had been formulated; she wore a medium skirt with sneaker and a brown hoodie with a white shirt underneath, "…Ow!" I clutched my head feeling a migraine throb against my head; every time I try to remember something.

"Are you hurt?" Pyrrha asked.

"No…just a little headache. It happens when I try to remember something." I replied, "I think the blows to the head I took before keep me from thinking too much."

"Maybe you should take a break from trying to remember anything till your head is healed." Yang said poking the bandage still on my head; she wasn't wrong that it might help but I seemed to have a big problem.

"As much as I would love to take a break my brain keeps trying to remind me; like what I've forgotten is too important." I said poking at the cake piece, "My brain is in more control than I am on my memory." Cutting the piece in half I handed one half to Nora who scarfed it down.

"I'm sure it'll work out." Ruby said trying to cheer me up; I guess all I can do is wait for my memory to return but it still feels like the longer I wait…the more alone I feel; it's like I'm missing something.

"I suppose…I hope it comes back soon though….where did my cake half go…NORA!"

I followed the group up to their dorms and watched as they went into their group rooms; I wonder where I'm sleeping, Goodwitch never actually assigned me anywhere to sleep and last night I slept in the WDR.

"Hey Soren?" I looked over to see Ruby looking at me, "Where are you sleeping?"

"That's a good question, the never told me where I was sleeping." I answered checking my scroll for any information I could find; I don't think I was even in the system, there was no information on me…good to know a computer knows how I feel.

"Well you're welcome to stay here if you need, I can loan you my sleeping bag."

"What?"

"What!?" Weiss said more surprised than me, "You're just going to let him stay in a ladies room!?"

"Jaune and Ren sleep with girls in their room. I don't see a problem." Ruby replied.

"If it's a bother then I'll just find somewhere else to sleep." I replied feeling a certain amount of tension fill the air.

"Pfft, it won't be any trouble." Ruby said with a smile as she dragged me in; I looked at Weiss to see her give me a glare; looking at the room I saw they had…'constructed' bunk beds both looking very unstable. The bathroom doors opened and both Yang and Blake walked out in their respective pajamas; Blake wore a kimono while Yang was wearing a t-shirt and sport shorts, "Yang, Blake, we have a new roommate!" Ruby said dragging me in front of her.

"Just for today!" Weiss added and Ruby gave a teeter-totter hand gesture.

"Ruby I'm not sure this is a good idea." Blake said scooching over to her bed while keeping her eyes on me like I was going to do something if I looked away.

"Eh…just don't wake me up in the middle of the night and we're good." Yang said jumping onto her bed and I saw the book holding it up slightly shift making me worry.

"Are you sure this is okay Ruby…I feel like I'm breaking some law…and angering both men and women by just standing in a room with four girls." I said feeling a weird chill go down my spine and looked behind me to see Weiss giving me dirty looks; it was weird to see her with her hair down, her pajamas were a dress that seemed uncomfortable to sleep in from the looks of it. Suddenly Ruby threw a red sleeping bag with a rose emblem on it.

"You can use my sleeping bag to sleep in. Good night Soren." I didn't like how she was ignoring my worries…well…at least I'm not sleeping outside; picking the clear area near the closet I unfurled the bag and took off my jacket, gloves and shoes and squirmed into the bag using my jacket as a pillow. Shifting I looked over at the bunk beds to see Weiss glaring at me; I couldn't blame her though, she seemed…classier than the others so she wasn't use to sharing a room with others…especially boys so I was probably going to be glared at till either I fall asleep or she does. Deciding to ignore her I shifted back and closed my eyes feeling sleep slowly consume me; hopefully tomorrow I could find some answers to who I am; it feels weird not knowing who I am…but I suppose things aren't so bad right now, I'll just have to take things as they come…and protect my food from Nora.


	4. Chapter 4 (Lingering Memory)

"Hey Soren?"

"What's up?"

"I was wondering if there's anything really important to you."

"That's an odd question."

"You know what I mean idiot! Is there anything really important to you that you don't want to lose."

"I guess…you."

"W-What!?"

"Yeah, you and the others…is something wrong, your face is really red."

"I-I-I-I-Idiot!" I suddenly shot up from my sleeping bag feeling a weird pain on the back of my head; it wasn't a migraine though, it felt like I was hit in the head suddenly without realizing it, it felt familiar though. I looked around to see Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang were still asleep, they all looked very peaceful and Yang was even talking in her sleep…and Ruby snored so loud I'm surprised the others weren't waking up; Blake and Weiss were quiet and slowly breathed as though they had nothing to worry about while they slept.

"Hey…that's my drink…how about we take this outside…I'll show you what a girl can do…" Yang kept mumbling in her sleep as she punched the air above her; I chuckled and looked out the window to see it was early in the morning and the sun was just peaking over the horizon, I could hear the birds chirping outside as some of the students jogged around the academy dorms with some passing by the window and giving a wave which I returned. I looked over to see a girl wearing sunglasses, flush with style and not afraid to show it approaching the dorms with three people behind her; one was large and intimidating with a great sword across his back and next to him was a boy with two small blades strapped to his side and behind them was…Velvet? Deciding that staying inside was no fun I grabbed my jacket, shoes and gloves and headed down to meet them as they entered the dormitory building; as the doors opened I rushed to the group and Velvet gave me a smile as I came to a stop in front of the lead girl.

"Soren." Velvet said waving.

"Good to see you Velvet." I said returning the wave as the girl in front of me pulled her sunglasses down and looked me up and down.

"So you're Soren…not much to look at…a little scrawny…style is more black than I was expecting…so you are Soren."

"Not much to look at?"

"I-I never said that!"

"I'm Coco Adel leader of team CFVY and currently wondering if you have the downstairs package to match you courage."

"What!?" Who just says that!?

"Coco!"

"Relax Velvet I'm just kidding. So Soren I hear you took out ten ursa on your own that's pretty impressive."

"You know as great as that sound I think I'm getting sick of it."

"Well then you'll be glad to know I have something different for remembering you."

"Really? What?"

"For standing up for Velvet. I have to thank you for that; if it were me I might have taken a limb or two but you did alright."

"Stop kidding Coco." Velvet said with a giggle…I don't think Coco was kidding though.

"Anyway this is Yatsuhashi Daichi." Coco said pointing to the large man to her left, "And this is Fox Alistair." She said motioning to the boy next to her, "and you've met Velvet already. That makes up team CFVY." So this is the team Velvet is a part of; they all seem very strong and with Coco as confident as she is and then some she's well protected by her team…I'm guessing Velvet is the most empathetic of the group as well, "It was nice to meet you Soren…maybe next time I can help you with your style."

"Thanks…I guess?" With that they walked past me and I watched as they turned the corner leaving my field of vision; it was nice to see Velvets' team…I guess I should head back to the room, nothing else to do. As I climbed the stairs I thought back to the dream I had this morning; someone was obviously talking to me but I didn't answer…and yet I answered. It was like hearing my own conversation from a different view; obviously this girl and some others are important to me, maybe it was those three names; Alice, Gareth and Lily, "Oh well…at least this thought isn't causing a migraine." As I opened the door to team RWBYs' room and was immediately smacked in the face with that door; reeling to the ground I looked up rubbing my nose to see Yang and Weiss sticking their heads out of the door and looking at me.

"So there you are. You weren't here when we woke up so I assumed you were in the bathroom." Yang said.

"When did you get up?" I asked rubbing my nose.

"7:00." Weiss replied; I looked at my scroll to see it was 7:05, "We thought you were some pervert trying to peek on us."

"What do you mean?"

"We're changing." Yang replied as though it was a basic fact…wait so they're currently…

"Your nose is bleeding…what are you thinking about you pervert!" Weiss said glaring as my nose slowly dripped.

"Nothing. The door broke my nose!" I replied using my fingers to clog my nose, "How long will you be."

"You sound like you have a cold." Yang said chuckling.

"Change topics please."

"We'll be out when we're done. Just go explore the campus…and if you go get breakfast save me a breakfast sausage." With that order Yang and Weiss disappeared behind the door as it shut; guess I've got a few hours to wait…they have breakfast sausages? Once the bleeding stopped I walked out of the dormitory and immediately ran into Miss Goodwitch literally bumping into her.

"Miss Goodwitch?"

"Yes Mister Thain?"

"Nothing…just surprised you're near the dorms this early…I thought you would still be asleep honestly."

"As a huntress I can't let the day go to waste, a hunter must be at their best at all times, that means getting up early…speaking of being at your best." She eyed me up and down with a frown, "That's the exact same outfit from yesterday and the day before when you woke up."

"What's wrong with it?" I asked feeling slightly self-conscious; first Coco and now Glynda.

"While on campus students are required to wear a uniform. Each is custom tailored to fit a student's body." She took out a small tape measure and started measuring different parts of my body from my height to my weight and everything in between as students passed by giving us confusing looks, "There. I'll get someone started on your uniform right away."

"Are we good now? Other students gave me really weird looks as they passed by." I said feeling my cheeks turn an embarrassed pink.

"Actually I would also like to ask that you find some variety to your outfit…I'm guessing you slept in those clothes as well?" I looked down to see a stain on my red shirt from yesterday's dinner.

"They're my only clothes." I said defensively and she sighed tapping her tiny screen.

"Well then I'm going to have to talk charge on this matter. I'm going to give you some lien; I want you to use that lien to purchase a few different articles of clothing."

"Really? Well I don't need it. I'm fine in this outfit." I suddenly heard my scroll beep and looked to see my wallet app open up and watched as my finances went from 0 to 85 in a few seconds, "Well…thank you Goodwitch…is there anything I can do to pay you back?"

"I would like you to assist me in collecting samples of rapier wasp venom for a class on the effects of poison in grim and in humans."

"You had that request surprisingly fast."

"Don't think of the lien as a hand out but rather as early payment for assisting me. Hunters are expected to help others and others are willing to pay for their assistance. Now I expect you to show up at 12:30 after lunch in order to help me, it would be in your best interest to show up precisely at 12:30 in order to finish our task in time for your next class."

"Y-Yes ma'am." I replied and she gave a small chuckle.

"Be sure to use that lien wisely. Hunters should be sure to spend their money wisely; it would be unfortunate to run out when you need it." It's always a lesson when I talk to her; as she walked away I looked at my scroll to see it was about to be 7:30; if I wasn't quick then the breakfast sausage would be all gone and even if I showed up in time with the others then I had another reason to worry…Nora. Rushing to the dining hall as fast as I could I looked to see it was almost barren meaning I still had a chance; getting into the line I grabbed a stack of pancakes and a few breakfast sausages and grabbed the syrup pouring it over the pancakes. I cut into them and took a bite feeling like the pancakes…lacked something…it felt like I had better pancakes then this before…maybe it's something from my past; standing up I moved over to the kitchen and found Dr. Oobleck cooking the meals at a rapid rate.

"Oobleck?" I said in surprise and he dashed over.

"Soren it is good to see you so early in the morning. I'm sorry to say if you have an issue with the morning breakfast I'm not going to change it."

"No I don't have a problem with the food…first off I'm surprised that you're the one making our meals and second I was wondering if I use some of your supplies to make pancake batter. I don't know why but I feel like it's connected to my past…but something about the cooking aspect of it."

"Well you're free to use what's in the pantry to cook but I advise avoiding the top shelf…we left rat poison up there but the label wore off with everything else up there and now we aren't sure which is which."

"I'll…be sure to keep that in mind." I replied opening the pantry; I grabbed the baking mix for pancakes and moved to the fridge grabbing the milk and eggs as well as the butter; I don't know why but my body seemed to instinctively grab exactly what I needed from the ingredients to the measuring cups and even the frying pan I needed. I went to work adding the amount of each ingredients and whisking the content in the bowl; after five minutes I looked at the content and compared it to Ooblecks finding it slightly more liquid then his…but it felt right. Firing up the stove I waited for it to come to a good temperature and slid a slab of butter pushing it all over the pan; I then poured three circles on to the pan and measured them making sure they didn't form into a giant pancake. When they were ready enough I flipped them over and noticed they weren't quiet as brown as Ooblecks but that still looked right; after making a small batch I took a bite…the flavor was a great improvement but maybe that was because it was slightly less cooked and thinner but I enjoyed it…but nothing felt familiar; I expected to have some big feeling of familiarity when I took a bite or even while cooking it but nothing came up. Giving a sigh I used up the remainder of the batter and cleaned the frying pan I used and cleaned up my station, "Thanks Mister Oobleck; the only thing I felt was something familiar to making it…but that's it."

"Fear not young lad I'm sure it will impact your return in some way and if not then you will surly learn from this moment and be sure to observe the situation and what to do and-" He suddenly got in my face, "It's Dr. Oobleck." With that he grabbed a pancake and took a quick bite, "…not bad…could use some syrup."

"Thanks…the secret is a little extra milk to make it slightly more liquid. Then make sure they don't run together in the pan and cook them for a bit less than you normally do; it makes them thinner and brings out the flavor, it makes syrup more an add flavor then the flavor of the pancake themselves." I said feeling everything I just said pop into my head out of nowhere.

"Very interesting…thank you. Now back to breakfast!" Leaving him to cook I left the kitchen and looked around to see the group sitting at one of the tables near the windows; I approached the group and sat down putting my stack of pancakes down.

"Hey…those don't look like mine. Are they holding out on us!?" Nora said dramatically.

"No I made these."

"Why did you make pancakes?" Ruby asked.

"You can make pancakes?" Yang said surprised.

"Apparently, I came here and started eating the pancakes and as I did I had this familiar feeling…so I made my own pancakes to see if that would jog my memory."

"And?" Blake asked looking up from her book; I shook my head in response with a sad look, it felt like I was stuck in the worst case of deja-vu ever.

"Well at least you know you can cook…even if it's something simple like pancakes." Weiss said trying to sound supportive in her own way…it didn't come off as supportive as it could have though; Nora moved over and grabbed a pancake from my plate biting into it. Her eyes seem to widen and she scarfed down the rest of it and reached for the whole plate; quickly moving it out of her reach everyone else had a curious look on their faces.

"What's in those pancakes?" Jaune said surprised at Nora's lung for more.

"Nothing…they're just cooked differently." I looked over at the plate to see Pyrrha had stood up and grabbed a pancake taking a bite before giving a sound of enjoyment.

"They aren't bad."

"Really? I kind of want to try some now." Jaune said.

"Really?" I said in surprise at his request.

"Hand me a plate to." Yang added.

"I'll try it." Ruby said raising her hand.

"I'll take some." Blake said pushing her book to the side.

"Me too." Ren said and I looked at Pyrrha to see her grabbing a small stack; I looked over at Weiss who fiddled with her fingers slightly.

"Fine…if everyone else is going to try I will to then." I chuckled at her growing blush of embarrassment and handed a small stack of my personal pancakes to each person; everyone took a beginning bite as Nora scarfed down her stack with glee; she was a very dramatic girl…it was quite funny and cute to see.

"That's actually pretty good." Ren said in between bites.

"I want a second helping." Ruby said stuffing pieces in to her mouth quickly; everyone gave me similar praise and I felt embarrassed.

"It's actually pretty good." Weiss admitted, "It feels like it could use something though…maybe…a little more baking mix." As she said that I felt myself chuckle, "What's so funny?"

"Alice said the exact same thing when she…tasted…them…" Everyone gave me a confused look and I felt the same confusion at what I said; Alice…who was Alice. I took a look at Weiss and she seemed to turn into a girl with black hair in a ponytail and green jacket…was this Alice…and who was she to me?

"S-Stop staring at me like that." The girl said looking away with a blush on her face, "D-Did you r-remember something?" When I blinked it turned back to Weiss.

"Sorry…you just turned into someone else for a minute." I replied feeling another migraine beat against my skull.

"Weiss turned into someone else…was she nicer than Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Hey!"

"I'm going to guess not. The expression on their face didn't change from Weiss's and like with Velvet it was based on their emotional state." I replied and Weiss shot me a glare, "Velvet was shy and kind making me see that girl…this time it was Weiss who is cold yet caring which made this girl appear."

"I don't like how I'm being talked about in this situation."

"Could I get a second plate?"

We spent the rest of breakfast enjoying the meals and as we left the dining hall my eyes were continuously drawn back to Weiss as I walked behind her…she and Velvet are the only people who have reminded of people form my past so far…and they seem to be very important people.

"Stop staring at me." Weiss said shooting me an angry look; I guess I was being a bit too obvious…and that sound incredibly creepy. I took a seat next to Ren in the back as Mr. Port's class began; I listened as Mr. Port discussed the different types of grim that exist, from the Nevermore to the Deathstalker and Ursa he covered ever grim type…followed by a story from his youth filled with heroism and detail that it had me slowly nodding off. Come on Soren…stay…awake…for…

"So you can make pancakes?"

"If I can smoke meat then you shouldn't be surprised I can make pancakes."

"You can smoke meat!?"

"Gareth I told you that story."

"T-The one with you and Alice right?"

"Right."

"Hmmm…they're good…but it could use a little more of something though…baking mix?"

"Really? I'll try that next time I get the chance Alice."

"Well they're still good. I just think you could make it better."

"Yeah but my taste buds are kind of too flexible on taste…Alice how about you become my taste tester?"

"What!? M-Me…are you sure?"

"Yeah. I trust you to be honest."

"Really…thank you."

"Isn't she always brutally honest?"

"Exactly, she can give me an honest review because she doesn't hold back. Like a wrestler!"

"I take back that thank you idiot!"

"Gah!" I shot up in my seat to see that everyone was standing up and leaving class; around me were the others who all gave me a shocked look, "Sorry…must have dozed off."

"Yeah but so did Nora and Ruby." Yang said pointing to the girls who were currently drooling on their desks, "They didn't mumble in their sleep though."

"Yang mumbles in her sleep and nobody says anything." I said pointing at Yang.

"Yeah but I don't do that during class." Yang replied smugly.

"Sorry…Mr. Port is just kind of boring." I replied standing up as Weiss and Ren woke up Nora and Ruby, "So…what happened in class?"

"A story." Blake replied, "You didn't miss too much."

"That's good…next is sparring class right?" I asked stretching and they nodded.

"Then let's get moving…I'd actually like to take on someone."

"You really love combat don't you?" Pyrrha asked.

"I don't really love doing it but I enjoy the feeling of adrenaline and fast thought. It's also the clearest thing I can remember so it feels natural to do it." I replied.

"So who are you going to fight today?" Jaune asked…last time I fought Weiss and did okay at that…I had to be extra alert because I didn't have an aura but now that I had one I had a better chance…but if I had a choice…

"I think I would want to fight Pyrrha." I said and Pyrrha had a surprised look.

"You do realize that Pyrrha is the most skilled student in Beacon right?" Weiss said surprised at my claim.

"Yeah I saw her fight and I want to see how I stack up." I said confidently and Weiss rolled her eyes while Yang, Ruby and Nora all snickered at me, "Good to see how much faith you guys have in me."

"Well I'm sure it will be a very invigorating fight." Pyrrha said with her usual smile.

"He's going to be destroyed." Nora said laughing…maybe not as cute as I thought before. Stepping into Goodwitch's class I sat down near the arena ready to jump in and fight…maybe I was a battle maniac; once Goodwitch had shown up the entire class went quiet as her footsteps echoed across the entire room as she walked to the center of the stage. From what I could tell from the three days I've been here it seems like every teachers is respected in a different way; Mr. Port wasn't taken seriously with his outlandish stories but he was respected in his energy and funny enough his stories because they had a hint of truth to them. Doctor Oobleck was a walking encyclopedia with the amount of history he could spout out like a broken fire hydrant; he was one of the smartest teachers next to Goodwitch and Ozpin. Goodwitch came off as cold and unapproachable but from the time I spent with her she actually cared about the students quite a bit…and still showed the authority to turn a room into the quietest place in the world. The true enigma of the school though was Ozpin; all I knew was that he was principle of the school and seemed to be able to mask his aura completely; even the other teachers weren't able to do that.

"Alright students who would like to go first?" Goodwitch asked as she looked around the room at each student; I began to raise my hand when she looked at the other end, "Very well Mister Winchester, who would you like to spar with?" Winchester…I looked at the other end to see the boy I punched yesterday looking over with a smirk; I don't like that look.

"I want to fight the new kid." He replied and Goodwitch turned to me.

"Mister Thain would you like to?" She asked.

"Oh…sure."

"Then both of you grab your weapons from your lockers and meet back here." She motioned to the back door and we both headed over; as we both approached the door Cardin bumped me out of the way and strode into the locker room as I followed behind him. Cardin walked into the back of the locker room as I found my locker on the nearby wall, I punched in my code and my locker opened up; grabbing Twin Soul and my dual pistols I attached the blade to my back waist and my pistols into their holsters attached to each side of my waist.

"So I bet you think you're something special." I looked behind me to see Cardin leaned up against a nearby wall, "You waltz into this school with no background and have a free pass to join the elite of this school. Any amateur can take out an ursa so taking out ten of them is nothing special but you thought you could go up against me just because you thought you were strong."

"You were picking on a girl, a faunus girl. You pulled her ears!"

"So you thought you would do something about it…what did it matter to you? You didn't even know her."

"That's not the issue! Even if it were…it reminded me of something…something I can't remember…but my heart did. So I had to act…I can't explain why though."

"Doesn't matter. After I beat you into the ground you won't be standing up to me anymore." Cardin walked away leaving me to wonder what made him so confident; from what I could tell all he had was that mace…well he wasn't in Beacon for nothing. I walked out of the locker room and got onto the arena floor; I stood across looking at Cardin who held his mace over his shoulder confidently, I unsheathed my blade and got into position ready to dash at him when Goodwitch gave the signal to start.

"If both of you are ready then let the match begin."

Dashing forward I took a swing as he moved his mace in front of him blocking my hit and pushing me back; as I stumbled he took a vertical swing at me and I spun on my foot to the left narrowly avoiding his hit and retaliating with a horizontal strike using the momentum from the spin. Hitting him he stumbled slightly before quickly regaining his footing and clicking a button on his mace the ball seemed to open up revealing a strange red core in the middle; he swung down striking the ground and I felt shock as a wave of fire ran at me. I moved to the left but the line of fire seemed to follow me and the fire consumed me; when it dissipated I saw I wasn't physically damaged; checking my scroll I saw my aura gauge had gone down by about a fourth…his hits were heavy and dangerous. Pulling my pistol out I shot him with a stun round before he could launch another line and dashed up to him; separating my blade into dual blades I delivered a flurry of slashes and thrusts trying to leave him no room to retaliate. Suddenly I felt his fist collide with my face ending my combo and making me back up; I didn't see his fist in time, he shot quick lines of fire at me in rapid succession as I dodged every one. After five of them he stopped as all five lines were now following me trying to catch me; damn it how could I lose these lines…maybe I could do that. Attaching both my blades back to each other I sheathed it and pulled out my blast round pistol shooting a far area and watching as all the lines went to where the explosion had gone off; so they're heat trackers, this is going to be interesting. The flames seemed to dance around the area unsure of what to do; I turned to Cardin as he had taken the opportunity to try to bludgeon me, pulling out my stun round pistol I shot him with a stun round and back stepped shooting a blast round at him making him stagger. The flames then began to run at Cardin and engulf him in their flames.

"Seems those flames turned against you!" I said with a confident smirk; I then heard him chuckle and looked to see he stepped out of the flames almost completely unscathed, "What!? How did you survive that!?" pointed to the screen above us and I looked to see his aura was only at 50%; his aura was much stronger than mine; I suddenly felt his mace collide with my stomach and felt my body thrown back. I shakily stood up and looked at my scroll; I was at 30% and I could feel the bruising wound of his attack; he was right, he wasn't in Beacon for nothing…but like hell I was going to let him get away with hurting Lily…I mean Velvet! Standing up I shot a few more stun round as he blocked everyone coming closer and as he came within swinging range I shot a blast round at the ground in front of him creating a small layer of smoke.

"What!?" Using the smoke to my advantage I rushed to the side as he swung wildly trying to catch me in his swing with no luck; I moved quietly behind him and as the smoke cleared I could see his head and stuck the pistol directly up to the back of his head and pulled the trigger shooting the stun round and watched as he stopped moving completely, "How did you- why can't I move!?"

"Stun rounds become more effective the closer the shot is fired. I've got at least thirty seconds to attack to my heart's content!" Putting both pistols back in their holsters I pulled out my blade and separated it delivering blow after blow, as many as I could as quick as I could; 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25- I jumped back as suddenly he swung backwards trying to catch me. I looked at the screen to see Cardin was at 25%; every hit from dual blade mode did 1% of damage to his aura; since it's this close I think it's time to change tactics! I sheathed Twin Soul and pulled out my dual pistols; I shot two blast rounds which means I have four left and one stun round…I have to make every shot count, if I'm lucky I can do 2% with each blast round…but what if I was up close? I dashed at him and he swung his mace around wildly obviously desperate to end this match quickly; I backed up trying to avoid his swing radius and shot each blast round hitting a different part of his body. Hearing the click of an empty chamber I holstered my blast pistol quickly and looked up at the screen to see Cardin was at 21%...one more hit…time to get risky. Pulling out my Twin Soul I blocked Cardin's mace as he began to push trying to overpower me…and it was working, "This is the part where you lose."

"Not…if I can help it!" I pushed back with all I could and felt him raise his knee and hit me in the stomach sending me to the ground clutching my gut and dropping my blade to the side.

"This will teach you!" He raised his mace over his head and stood there menacingly; now's my chance! Using my last stun bullet I shot him in the chest and grabbed Twin Soul slicing up along his chest and spinning giving him a final blow with a horizontal slice knocking him to the ground.

"That's the match." Goodwitch said stepping between us as I panted feeling the adrenaline start to wear off now that the match was over; I looked up at the screen to see Cardin's aura at 17% while mine was at 21%; even his kicks to the stomach are dangerous, "Well done Mister Thain. A little sloppy but you've shown your resourcefulness."

"Thank you ma'am." I said with a bow still panting form the fight.

"Mister Winchester I suggest next time that you stay calm under pressure; had you done that you might not have been so easily countered."

"Lucky…shot…ow." Cardin limped away from the ring as I returned to my seat still taking deep breaths.

"…Sorry Pyrrha…I'm going to have to postpone that match against you." I said catching my breath; geez, even if Cardin is a jerk his power and skill was still impressive…not enough to stop me though. Lily…I know that name…and now I thought about that name during the fight…I wanted to give him payback for attacking Velvet but then that name…maybe it's linked to the person I saw in Velvet's place. So the red head with the glasses is named Lily; I guess it's a good start…I've got one person figured out, now I've just got the rest of my past…crap.


	5. Chapter 5 (Hurt and comfort)

As Goodwitch and I walked through the nearby woods of Forever Falls I could hear low buzzing coming from around the trees; we came here to collect venom from Rapier Wasps but if they are wasp creatures then how were we going to collect venom?

"Right now it's mating season which means they will be in large clumps." Goodwitch said stopping in her tracks making me bump into her.

"So how are we going to collect the venom? I don't think these wasps are going to be willing to part with it without piercing us." Goodwitch handed me a small jar confusing me.

"You are correct but that's why I've decided to capture a few wasps and just extract them back in the lab at school."

"How will I do that?"

"I'll leave that up to you." As she said that I was one of the wasps approach her and begin to rush at her but she quickly swiped a bottle catching the wasp very quickly surprising me, "Catch at least ten of them if you wouldn't mind."

"Okay…I'll see what I can do." Walking away I searched the depths of the forest finding a few nests of Rapier Wasps but finding no way to approach them without ending up being chased by soldier wasps. Rushing behind a tree I took a breath sitting below one of the trees; as I sat there I heard a small rustling and stood up slowly gripping the hilt of my sword I walked forward slowly and heard another bout of rustling followed by something rising and swinging prompting me to block the hit coming in and felt a force hit my blade and the sound of metal clashing. When I looked at my attacker I was surprised to see Blake holding the blade I was currently blocking, "Blake!?"

"Soren?" Blake suddenly stopped and pulled her blade back putting it away as I did the same with mine, "I thought you were a grim."

"Yeah same. What are you doing in Forever Fall Forest?"

"It's…slightly complicated…what about you?"

"I'm collecting Rapier Wasps for Glyn- Miss Goodwitch." Every time I get a weird chill up my spine, "But there are very aggressive and hard to catch…have any tips?"

"…What if you collected the tree sap and put it into the jar?"

"How would that help?"

"Rapier Wasps enjoy the sap in these trees, they choose this area to mate because the sap provides nutrients for their young but they still enjoy it through their whole life. I'm sure if you put a small amount in the bottom you can attract a few into the jar."

"Oh. That's smart…thanks Blake…would you mind helping me collect honey?" I asked and she gave a skeptical look before taking a small whiff of me and turned a crimson red color and went wide eyed.

"NoI'vegottogorightnowI'llseeyoulaterSorenbye!" She suddenly rushed away leaving me alone and confused by how she was acting; that was…odd. Using my blade I stabbed into one of the trees and watched as some of the sap seeped out of the tree running down the bark of the tree; raising the bottle to it I watched as a small pile of red sap had congealed at the bottom staying stationary, I took a small whiff of the bottle and felt my taste buds slightly scrunch at the sickly sweet scent that clogged my nose. Closing the bottle I went back to hunting for wasps finding a small nest of them; opening the bottle I set it down and backed up into a nearby bush and stayed quiet as wasps came over and flew into the jar picking at the bottom as they fluttered; I waited for a few minutes counting the wasps as they went in…7…8…9…10! I rushed forward slamming the lid down and trapping all the wasps inside as the angrily knocked against the glass; I don't know if these things can break glass so I'd better hurry back to Goodwitch…I wonder why Blake ran away like that before…seems unlike her. Pushing the thought aside I handed the jar to Goodwitch who gave me a smile.

"Good work, using the sap to trap them is very intuitive. Here is the rest of your payment."

"Rest of it?"

"Yes I only gave you a portion of it. Here is the rest." I heard a small ding and looked to see my finances rise from 85 to 150, "I'll be sure to tell the other teachers about you. A reputation will always get more work for hunters so I hope to hear that you have done good work with the others when they need you."

"…Why are you helping me Miss Goodwitch?" I asked confused by how much help she's been since I first woke; showing me around, giving me the money to clothe myself and even willing to get me paid work on campus.

"…Soren there are different types of people in this world that have made an impression that there is more to them than meets the eye. So far very few have been able to do that; Ozpin is one of those…and you are another."

"So…you're helping me because you find me interesting?"

"I'm helping you because I feel like whatever is going on with you is more than I could understand…but it still feels important…and I want to help."

"Well…thank you Gly- Miss Goodwitch…that means a lot."

"…If you would like when not in class you may call me Glynda."

"Well then thank you Glynda. Call me Soren."

"You are very welcome Soren. I expect you to keep impressing in class."

"I'll try my best." I replied with a chuckle and she gave a kind smile…she's nicer than I expected…still wouldn't want to cross any lines with her around though.

Once I was done helping Glynda I waited until the end of the day and headed straight for the nearest clothing store to see the clothing choices I had, honestly not my style with some of this stuff; I'm not exactly a fashionable person, I like simplicity…guess that's why I showed up in shirt and jeans with a jacket and fingerless gloves. A lot of these clothes were more complicated than I thought any clothes could be; straps and belts, weird layers and color schemes that left me baffled; don't they just sell shirts and pants!?

"Well well, fancy seeing you here." I turned to see Coco standing there with her usual smirk and eyeing me from behind her sunglasses.

"Hey Coco. What are you doing here?"

"This is one of my favorite clothing stores. I come here to see what new styles they have in stock on a common basis. What about you?"

"Picking up spare clothing…or trying to at least. Do they have anything that won't make me sweat like a faucet?" I looked back to Coco to see her eyeing me up and down again, "Is…something wrong?"

"If you're up for it I can help you find a new style."

"New style?"

"Everyone needs something unique to set them apart…not to be mean, but your style is very…bland."

"No offense taken. Keep going."

"Well I think using the right combination of clothes in this store I can turn you into a better you." Well…I guess if anyone should revamp my image it should be the girl who exudes style and cool.

"…Alright…but the jacket and gloves are permanent."

"I can work with that." With that Coco quickly grabbed my arm and pulled out a small tape measure taking my measurements; it feels weird being measured twice in one day for clothes; clicking the tape measure shut Coco grabbed a bunch of different clothes tossing them in my direction, "Hmmm…black is definitely your color but…maybe a little splash of white for contrast…a few utility sashes…maybe a leather belt." As she talked to herself I sat down on one of the nearby stools and dug through my pockets pulling out my scroll to see a message from Ruby.

'Have you seen Blake at all? I haven't seen her all day.' She was in the forest earlier.

'Yeah, she said she would be back later today.' As I sent that message Coco suddenly shoved a collection of black clothing into my hands; belts, sashes, pants, shirts, trench coats…and a white shirt? At this point I'm going to look like Kirito from Sword Art Online…where the hell did that come from?

"Trench coat? I said the jacket was permanent."

"You wear a windbreaker; you could wear a parka over it and not feel a difference so a trench coat isn't too much…besides it's as light as what you wear."

"So like a lab coat?"

"Exactly, only cooler. Now try it on." Coco gave me a push into the dressing room and closed the curtain leaving me with an obscene amount of black clothing and one random white shirt…why a white shirt…color contrast, of course!

Third-Person

Coco stood against the wall next to the changing room observing the entire store; as she looked at everything she gave a sigh as none of the clothing items really interested her, this was one of her favorite places but it seems like lately the place had become stale in fashion for her.

"Must be because of the recent robberies around Vale." They may have been hitting dust shops but Coco knew that it would affect shipments coming into Vale, "I'm going to destroy whoever is messing with my clothing stores!"

"Something wrong Coco?" Soren asked hearing her mumbling.

"No just looking around. So where are you from Soren? I'd like to know."

"You and me both."

"Alright then let's try something you might know. How did you learn how to fight?"

"Fighting…a LOT of fighting."

"Alone?"

"Well…for the first few fights yeah but…then I met others who fought with me. It's blurry but I remember fighting with others at my back…we protected each other and made each other better."

"Sounds like you had a pretty awesome team."

"Yeah…that's why I feel so bad for forgetting them…it feels like I can't remember a piec of myself without them."

"…Well then it won't be too long before you remember."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well if it's that important then you won't forget it forever."

"…Yeah I guess you're right."

"It's only been two days since you came here and what have you remembered so far?"

"…Two faces and three names…and I'm pretty sure I can connect names and faces at this point. Also two events have popped up in my dreams."

"See, you'll get it…it's too important to stay forgotten."

"…Thanks Coco. That means a lot."

"And if they are as important as you say then odds are they're looking for you as well."

"R-Really!?"

"You sound excited now." They both chuckled enjoying the hope and happiness they felt in that moment, "Now come out…let's see that outfit."

"Okay…but you can't laugh if I look stupid."

"I chose the outfit; if it looks stupid then I'll give you a hundred lien."

"Alright then." Pulling the curtain back Soren stepped out; he was wearing an almost all black set of boots, pants, long jacket and a white shirt breaking the black tone, across his shirt was a leather sash with small areas for holding clips of ammo and even single bullets, the belt was a black leather and had two holsters for pistols and a small clip on the back for his blade at an angle to conceal it under his jacket.

"Looks like I'm keeping that hundred lien. Not bad at all." Soren looked at himself at every angle getting a bit more excited by the look on his face.

"I'll admit Coco. When it comes to fashion you definitely trounce the competition."

"Well thank you. I've got to go now though. It's mating season and Velvet is being affected so I left her in a cave in the forest for the day; I've got to go check on her."

"Faunus are affected by mating season?"

"Yeah but it's not too bad. As long as they aren't driven by a person's smell there's no danger."

"Danger?"

"Animal mating is…damaging and rough."

"Too much information. I'll see you later Coco." With a wave to each other Soren and Coco separated with Coco leaving the store and Soren paying for the new outfit…and a few red shirts and jeans for casual attire.

Soren

Stepping out of the clothing store with my bag of casual clothes and my newly donned outfit I looked around to see it had gotten dark; checking my scroll I looked to see it was about 10 pm, must have spent longer on that then I expected…and more than I thought, now I've only got 10 lien left.

"Guess I'll have to take a few teacher missions later." As I put my scroll back into my pocket I suddenly heard the sound of shattering glass and turned to where I heard the sound to see shadows near a shop, "The hell?" As I approached it feeling curious I suddenly felt my heartbeat increase…something wasn't right here; when I sparred with other students my heartbeat increased slightly but as I looked at these shadows my heartbeat increased to the point I felt tension make goosebumps run across my body…this was actual danger…and yet it felt familiar. Pulling out my sword I stepped forward slowly towards the store, the shadows slowly came into view revealing strange mask wearing thieves who were going in and out of the store carrying boxes and crates. As one of them came out they dropped the box making the content spill onto the ground; it was colored crystals and powders by the pounds that spilled to the ground…that was…dust…why were they stealing dust?

"Careful you idiots! We need every speck of dust we can get and I'm not losing it because you decided to dump it onto a flower bed to make a frozen daisy!" Suddenly a man with red hair in a bowler hat and a white coat holding a strange cane appeared; he looked in charge of the whole operation and had the attitude of a guy on top. I looked down hearing something clink and looked to see two crystals in front of my feet; picking them up I saw the person who had dropped the box heading towards me as they picked up each dust crystal. I stood there stunned for a minute and watched as they looked up at me; we stood there looking at each other for a minute and then they swung at me with their fist; weaving to the side I swung my right fist at them knocking them back farther than I expected; I looked to see everyone looking directly at me, "Didn't I have enough of a problem with the red brat wielding the weed whacker? Get him you animals!" As he yelled ten to twenty of the masked guys ran at me down the alley; backing into the narrow passage they all ran at me in a line, pulling my stun pistol out I shot at the first runner making him stop and causing the others to crash into them knocking everyone over into a line…heap; pulling my sword back I thrust as they all stood up and knocked them into the far wall giving me room to move forward; grabbing one of their masks I rushed over to the red haired leader who gave a sigh as he put out his cigarette, "Why is it always some brat?" Raising his cane and pointing it at me I watched as a small reticle popped up and ducked down as he took a point blank shot that went over my head hitting the ally and exploding; blast rounds…fun. Swinging my blade up he immediately blocked it and hit me with the cane on the block knocking me back slightly; taking another swing I threw a bit more force knocking his cane out of his block. Going in for a thrust he brought his cane back with a spin blocking the trust again and shooting at my feet knocking me back…and onto my back; rolling backwards I stood up and separated my blade into dual blades. (Speed!) Dashing forward I made a combo of swings in rapid succession as he blocked about half of them while the other half skimmed him; that cane definitely gave him a speed and defense that was almost impenetrable…almost. Reattaching my blades into the staff blade I jumped back and pulled out my blast pistol shooting another round at the guy; he quickly shot at me making both bullets hit each other creating a giant smokescreen, perfect. Swapping my pistols out I held my blade out and watched as the guy swung his cane trying to catch me off guard; spinning the staff form I caught his cane making it spin under me and took a shot directly at his chest point blank. In his moment of stillness I quickly separated my blades and started my combo; as I swung I suddenly felt his cane swing against my stomach making me lose momentum, as I refocused I saw his cane directly pointing at me a few inches from my face…crap! (Defense!) The force of the shot knocked me into the nearby street and I shakily stood up; he broke out of stun quicker than Cardin or Weiss did, "Surprised little raccoon? The police use stun shots so you get use to them after a while, really not the smartest to use." Raccoon? Suddenly I heard the humming of a chopper blade and looked to see a helicopter had appeared next to me, "Good to see you showed up. This neighborhood is filled with strange teenagers just attacking from out of nowhere; I could do without another loss of dust but it seems I have no choice." Passing by me he jumped into the helicopter as I rose into the air, "So long raccoon! Don't go dumpster diving in alleys all night!" Ah…that's why he called me that. Getting up I reached for the landing pipe and grabbed it as it raised, "Sorry but…NO VERMIN!" I felt the sudden smack of the cane against my face knocking me off the ship. I suddenly felt a strong force as I collided with the street ground; I tried to stand up and felt my body refuse to move, rolling over I shakily got up and looked around trying to refocus…again. The dust shop had its windows broken but all the dust was around the shop and the thieves were still unconscious…and there are the sirens; I looked to see police cars approaching the scene…and strangely a news truck.

"I…don't think I have time to answer questions…ow!" As I tried to walk away I fell to the ground and dropped my sword, "This is not good…ow!"

"Seems you need a little help." I looked up to see Blake standing over me.

"Blake? What are you doing here?" I asked as she helped me up.

"Let's get out of here first…are you okay to walk?"

"Yeah…I'll be good…give me a second."

"You're not good are you?"

"No…I'm fine…ow!" Falling down Blake quickly caught me and gave a small giggle, "Maybe a little help would be nice."

"I'll get us out of here." Suddenly Blake picked me up and started dashing away from the spot; as I waited I suddenly felt a lurching stop and looked to see we were back in front of the school, "Here we are." Blake set me down and I took a moment to stand up.

"Thanks Blake." I said with a nervous chuckle, "After my encounter I didn't feel very good."

"A fall from a helicopter isn't very easily recoverable. Mind telling me what you were doing?"

"Well in all honesty I was just buying some clothes when I finished up and heard the sound of glass shattering. Next thing I know I'm fighting a bunch of guys in masks and a red head with a mobsters fashion sense…also I think I left my clothes there." Blake gave a small laugh and handed me a bag full of my clothing, "Thanks a lot. Who was that?"

"That was Roman Torchwick. A criminal who's been leading dust robberies across the kingdom." Blake explained.

"So were the mask his shtick?" She gave me a quizzical look and I pulled out the mask I grabbed from one of the goons; she gave a shocked look and I watched her face shift from different emotion to emotion…did her bow just twitch?

"T-They must have been…it's something new though." Blake said obviously hiding something; she didn't seem good at hiding whatever she was hiding…I'll leave her alone about it for now though.

"Thanks a lot for saving me Blake…I don't think I could have explained things well to the police…not being on any record except the school's makes it kind of difficult."

"I can understand that…at least a little."

"Well I think I've had enough excitement for the day. Let's head back to the dorms and get some sleep."

"That sounds good. Your bruises are going to need to heal."

"Yeah…mind helping me back?" She chuckled as I asked and I gave a chuckle back as she put my arm over her shoulder helping me.

"Sure…I don't mind helping you…that's why I'm here after all." As she helped me back to the dorms I looked at her and felt a sense of…familiarity…almost like looking at someone who was like me; I'm thinking too much about it…I need sleep…..

"S…n?...re…fa…slee…?" ...good…night….

"Soren! Wake up!"

"Ow! Sorry Alice. Guess I'm just a little tired."

"Geez, after yesterday I expected you to take the day off resting…how's your bruise?"

"Nothing serious, look it's already looking better."

"Not that bruise idiot the one on your side. Lift up your shirt for a minute."

"How did you notice it?"

"You held your side when we went to the park yesterday, word of advice; if you want to hide something don't roll the wheelchair, I see everything around it."

"Fair enough. Here."

"Woah! Where did you get that shiner!?"

"I-It's not that bad Gareth."

"Lily look at it! It's like kidney and liver failure had a kid and that kid started drinking and then IT had liver and kidney failure."

"Exaggerating much?"

"Don't be in denial Soren."

"It's not bad…but it's not good either…did you get this when we went for Lily?"

"Yeah. A table isn't very soft so…"

"IDIOT! You've been hiding this for a week now!"

"Sorry I didn't want to worry you."

"You worry us every time you hide something. 'sigh' Three adventures and you still don't realize that we worry about you constantly."

"It's true."

"Y-Yeah…after everything we've been through i-it's hard not to worry about each other."

"Guys…thanks. I can't promise that I'll always tell you what's wrong but-"

"No, I want a promise."

"Alice-"

"Promise me that whenever you have a problem, physical or emotional, you'll tell us."

"Well…"

"Come on Soren. After everything that's happened you still want to hide things from us? You can't hide forever. Even if you can hide it from me and Lily Alice will rat you out."

"It's true."

"P-Please Soren? I-It's not like it's a fatal disease right…right?"

"Don't worry Lily it's not a disease."

"I don't care if it's a stubbed toe, you will tell us…okay?"

"…Fine Alice, I promise…as long as you guys do the same."

"Fair deal."

"O-Okay, I promise."

"Alice?"

"Hmhm, of course." As I woke up I saw I was back in team RWBY's room and the sun was starting to rise; getting up I felt my side ache slightly, I looked to see a bruise had formed becoming a deep purple color.

"Huh? Who's there?" I looked over to see Weiss had shot up from her bed and was rubbing her eyes, "Soren…what's wrong?"

"Nothi-…huh…I have a bruise from last night."

"How in the world did you get that?" Weiss asked walking over and touching it making the pain make me cringe, "Oh, sorry. So where did you get that?"

"…Stopping a dust shop robbery."

"So that's where you were all night. Geez, you're as bad as Ruby." Weiss moved over to the bathroom and I heard the sink run for a few seconds and then there was a blue flash; Weiss came back out holding a small bag of ice and pressed it against the bruise making me give a small grunt, "Be quiet. I'm trying to help."

"Mind if I ask why?"

"Well you did stop a robbery of Schnee dust. It's the least I can do for you…don't get used to it though."

"Schnee dust? You own a dust company." She gave me a confused look before giggling at me making my face turn red in embarrassment.

"What's so funny?"

"You know, I thought maybe you were some idiot who treated me like a friend because you knew who I was."

"…Aren't you Weiss Schnee?" She giggled again.

"Not what I mean. You really don't know about the Schnee Dust Company?"

"Well I've only been here a few days so I don't exactly know much…but I'd be willing to find out while we sit here."

"I think I understand why Pyrrha likes Jaune."

"What do you mean?"

"Hmhm, don't worry."

"Are you su- ow!" I felt her push the ice into my bruise proving her point, "Got it…I'll drop the subject."

"Good. Now how about you tell me why you seemed so hesitant when I asked you what's wrong?"

"And I don't get to ask you a question? That seems pretty- ow! Got it…anyway I had a dream where I made a promise to Alice, Gareth and Lily that I would tell them what's wrong when they asked…for some reason I felt it applied here."

"Any reason you can think of?"

"Well it could be because you're my friend…or maybe it's because I felt like I could trust you more than others."

"!"

"OW!"

"Oh sorry…better?"

"Yeah...thanks Weiss."

"Don't make a big deal about it…it's what friends are for."

"Then thanks for being my friend then."

"Be quiet. Anymore and I'll push in."

"Alright." As we sat there I looked at her and thought about the dream I had; a promise to share the pain I feel with others…it seems strange in retrospect but sitting here with Weiss I see what Alice meant; because I shared my pain with Weiss she was helping heal it...and I didn't mind too much.

"Well well well." We looked up to see Ruby looking at us from her bunk with a giant smirk on her face, "What's happening here?"

"She's just pushing ice on my bruise. Is that weird?" I looked over to see Weiss had wide eyes and her face had gone from her normal pristine white color to a tomato red, "Something wrong Weiss. You were doing fine just a minute ag- ow! Please stop pushing!"

"Quiet you!"

"Ow!"

"Hehehehehe."

"You to Ruby!"

"Ow! Don't push more!"

"I said quiet!"

"OW!"


	6. Chapter 6 (Truths and lies)

I sat in Goodwitch’s class watching as Jaune and Cardin sparred in the ring; it was different from how I fought Cardin, he wasn’t using any of his moves or his fire lines…and he was still beating Jaune easily. It’s been a few weeks since I came here and from the people I’ve met there have been a lot of talented fighters but Jaune was a…special case; he seemed competent in defending himself against basic enemies but with the combat skill at this school it was like sending a mouse against a snake. He could defend and…that was about it; any attack he made was either too slow or too weak to do any real damage. Jaune’s aura was at about 25% while Cardin still had 99%...Jaune was able to get one good hit in but that was it; they were currently in a power struggle with Cardin overpowering Jaune and Jaune trembling under his strength. Suddenly Cardin knocked his knee into Jaune’s stomach making him fall to the ground.  
“That’s the match.” Goodwitch said stepping in front of the two of them and the lights coming back on, “As you can see Jaune’s aura has gone into the red. In a tournament style duel this would mean mister Arc is unfit to continue fighting and that the overseer can declare the match.” That’s right, the Vytal Festival is coming up; from what the guys said a tournament is also set up in a giant coliseum for teams to go up against each other, “Mister Arc it’s been weeks now. I advise you review your scroll during combat.”  
“Yes Miss Goodwitch.” Jaune replied sadly as she walked away. Rising from my seat I jumped down into the ring as the bell rang and went over to help Jaune up.  
“Don’t worry Jaune, at least you aren’t missing a limb.” I said as he got up.  
“What do you mean by that?” Jaune asked.  
“I’m not entirely sure just vague feelings of emptiness with some memories of battle…missing leg, arm and things like that.”  
“Are you a cyborg?” Jaune asked with a look of amazement in his eyes.  
“Nope, all flesh.” I replied knocking against my flesh leg making a point, “Don’t worry too much. I’d recommend some practice if you can.”  
“I’m fine, I’ll get it.” Jaune replied brushing off my advice and walking past me towards his team; looking over I watched as Cardin had a smug look on his face as he looked at Jaune; great to know he still thinks he’s on top of the pecking order. 

In the cafeteria I grabbed a sandwich and sat down with the group to see them conversing about Jaune’s bully problem.  
“I didn’t land far from the school.” Jaune said with a nervous smile.  
“Didn’t you land in a grim infested area?” I asked sitting down next to Weiss.  
“Yeah, good thing we showed up when we did.” Ren said with a sigh.  
“Jaune was stuck in his locker.” Nora said snickering.  
“Regardless Cardin is a colossal jerk.” Pyrrha added.  
“He’s small minded.” Blake said not looking up from her book, “Intolerant and a massive jerk.”  
“Ow!” Hearing Velvet’s voice I quickly turned to see Cardin pulling her rabbit ears, “Please stop.” She asked as she struggled to get away.  
“I told you they were real, what a freak.” Cardin said laughing with his team; standing up I walked over and pried Cardin’s fingers loose from her ear and moved Velvet over to our seat.  
“Thanks Soren.”  
“Of course Velvet. I’ve got your back.” I said patting her head; in that moment she changed to Lily for a moment before turning back to Velvet. This happens more regularly than I’d like to admit but I’ve gotten used to it and it only happens with Weiss and Velvet with the first turning into Alice and the second turning into Lily. Nothing about Alice and Lily was clear but I know now who they are and what they look like…the third name Gareth hasn’t made an appearance yet but that must be because I haven’t met anyone who’s like him.   
“Maybe we should do something about Cardin.” Ruby said.  
“Oh! We’ll break his legs!” Nora exclaimed surprising us.  
“Or…” I started, “Jaune could become more confident and show Cardin he’s not someone to mess with.”  
“Guys I’ll be fine.” Jaune said trying to calm us down, “Don’t worry.” With that Jaune stood up and left the table to discard his leftovers. I heard a small beeping and looked to see it was about 12:25; guess I’d better head to Professor Port’s now.  
“I’ll see you guys later, I’ve got work to do.” As I stood up I felt a pull at the back of my collar and was quickly pulled back into my seat.  
“Not so fast.” Weiss said making me turn my attention to her, “Every time you go off you come back to us covered in bruises or a weird smell.”  
“How was I supposed to know that there was a sinkhole?”  
“You smelled like grim dung.”  
“Granted, but now I don’t…mostly.” I gave myself a small sniff, “Yeah I’m fine.”  
“The fact that you had to sniff yourself makes me skeptical.” Weiss said with a glare, “So what’s the mission today?”  
“Grim clearing.” I responded holding up the note from Port, “Some Grim have come a bit too close to the school so Port and I are going to clear out a few of them.”  
“That seems dangerous.” Pyrrha said sounding concerned.  
“Well it’s two against…a lot of grim but we should be fine.”  
“You’re crazy.” Weiss said with a look of disappointment on her face.  
“Sounds fun. Mind if I join?” Yang asked surprising me.  
“Well…it doesn’t say I can’t have help…sure.” I replied as she got more excited, “Anybody else?” Velvet slowly raised her hand slowly.  
“I-I’d be happy to help.” Velvet said.  
“I’m coming to.” Weiss declared surprising everyone, “What?”  
“Are you okay Weiss…are you actually Weiss?” Ruby asked looking her up and down skeptically.  
“Is it so wrong for me to want to be a part of something?”  
“Yes.” Everyone said at once making me snicker at which she hit me on the head.  
“I’m not having you come back smelling like a ruffian again…it makes it really difficult to sleep.”  
“Sorry.” I said feeling a little guilty.  
“Let’s just go.” Weiss said dragging me by my collar as Yang and Velvet followed behind; I looked to see Yang snickering while Velvet gave a small giggle; great. 

“Good to see you showed up Soren.” Port said standing at the border to a nearby forest, “And you brought some allies.”  
“Yeah…they wanted to help out.” I explained rubbing the mark on my neck from being dragged by Weiss.  
“It’s good to see young students eager to find glory by helping others. Now we will be searching the woods for any large grim packs; when you find one I want you to exterminate the group before they come to close to the school.”  
“Mister Port?” Velvet said raising her hand, “Why are the grim coming so close to the school all of a sudden. I don’t remember hearing about this last year.”  
“A very good question my dear. For the moment we are unsure but while we figure it out we will protect the school from them to our best ability. Now if everyone is ready then let us begin our work.” Ending there Mister Port headed into the east end of the forest on his own.  
“So how will we do this?” Yang asked.  
“Let’s split up into groups of two.” Weiss said, “We can check the west and north end of the forest and meet back here at the entrance.”  
“Works for me.” I said.  
“Alright then let’s decide groups.” Weiss said pulling out straws; grabbing one I saw a small red line at the top, looking at the others I saw a red line on Yang’s while Weiss and Velvet had a blank straw.  
“Guess I’m going with Yang.” I said giving her a high five.  
“We’ll check the north area while you two check the west.” Weiss said as we entered the forest, “Meet back here when you’re done.”  
“See you soon Weiss.” I replied as they dashed off.  
“Let’s get moving, I’m ready for some excitement!” Yang said prepping her gauntlets; she definitely gave off the feeling of a fun loving adventurist ready for anything; as I looked at her she changed to a strange boy for a split second making my head split slightly.  
“Let’s go!” I replied feeling her energy pump me up; we dashed through the forest keeping our eyes peeled for any grim in our vision, it seems like this area is pretty barren of grim but I couldn’t take any chances…! Grabbing Yang I dove into a nearby bush; pulling it open I looked to see a group of Boarbatusk and Beowolves in a large group; looks like we found our grim.  
“Ready Yang?” I asked and she chuckled.  
“Born ready!” With that she shot forward and swung punching a Beowolf into a tree attracting the other grim; jumping in I took a few swing striking the Beowolves that came in for a bite; as the boars came at me I blocked their tusks and pushed them backwards dealing with the Beowolves who were the biggest threat at the moment. Hearing a grunt I looked to see Yang being overwhelmed and separated my blade throwing the right one at the Beowolf over her; it didn’t pierce him but he looked over at me when the blade knocked against him giving Yang the chance to retaliate with a swift punch that knocked the Beowolfs head clear off, I don’t think I want to be on her bad side…EVER. Slicing the last Beowolf apart I rolled and grabbed my other blade reattaching it and changing to blade staff blocking the two boars that came rolling at me; as they collided with my blade I was thrown back into a tree; guess they had more momentum then I expected, “Soren you okay?” Yang yelled as she uppercut a boar onto its back.  
“I’m fine…just didn’t expect that.” I replied rolling to the side as one of the boars rammed at me getting its tusks stuck in the tree; taking the opportunity I took a stab at its belly making it stop moving and fade into nothing, “Think you can flip these guys over?”  
“Piece of cake!” Yang replied jumping up and rocketing to the ground causing the ground to shake, “Maybe not so much as I thought.” She’s not strong enough to cause a shockwave that large…even if I do that it won’t be enough; I quickly moved over and stood at Yang’s back.  
“Anyway to increase you strength?” I asked blocking the boars.  
“Only if I get mad.” She replied with a tense look on her face…what would piss Yang off…this will not end well for me.  
“I’m going to apologize right now for what I’m about to do. Sorry.” I said turning around.  
“Sorry for what?” She asked as I took a swing at her lopping off part of her hair; as she looked to see her hair was slightly shorter at the end her eyes turned a deep red and her brow furrowed as she looked at me bearing her teeth. I quickly grabbed her fist holding it as she shook with rage; (Power!) I was SO dead when this is over.  
“Yang punch the ground!” I said and she immediately slammed her fist into the ground making me rise to the air and fall to the ground with her force; she didn’t even jump! Standing up I quickly punctured every boar on its stomach before it could get up. Taking out the last one I panted slightly exhausted from the battle and put my blade away as Yang grabbed me by my collar.  
“I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!” She yelled her eyes a burning red.  
“It was the only thing I could think of!” I said feeling scared for my life, “How about I give you half of the cash I’m going to make from this?” I offered and she went still for a minute.  
“Fine.” She said dropping me to the ground, “But if you ever do that again, I will break your manhood so you never have the balls to do that again.” She said pointing at me with a glare.  
“…Threat acknowledged…never again.” I said covering my privates scared for their safety.  
“Good, now let’s head back. I think that’s enough for one day.”  
“Agreed.” I said standing up as she chuckled at me.  
“Come on it wasn’t that bad.”  
“For you maybe…I came close to death.”  
“True.” She said laughing at me…geez, she’s just like…Gareth? Suddenly she changed into someone else; it was a guy with short hair and dark brown skin; he had on a sleeveless red shirt and blue jeans and had Yang’s cocky smile that told me he was ready for anything that came his way…this was the last person, Gareth…ow, “You okay?”  
“…Yang, thank you.” I said and she gave me a smile.  
“Sure…I don’t know what I did but you’re welcome.” She gave me a thumbs up and I chuckled…it felt so familiar.

We walked back feeling tired from the previous fight and I began to let my mind wander; Yang Xiao-Long…Ruby Rose…Xiao-Long…Rose.  
“Hey Yang?”  
“What’s up Soren?”  
“If you and Ruby are sisters why do you have different last names?”  
“Oh well me and Ruby are half-sisters. We each have a different mother…at least we HAD different mothers.”  
“Had?”  
“Yeah, our parents were all hunters and eventually our dad got married to my mother and they had me…but then she went missing…a year later my dad remarried and then they had Ruby a year after that…then she left for a mission and never came back.”  
“Oh…I’m sorry.” I said feeling like I said something too personal.  
“It’s okay, what about you? I know your memories aren’t so good but do you have a mom and dad?”  
“Actually I do remember a few of my family members. I have a mom and dad and sister?”  
“Anything specific?”  
“Nothing about my mom…but my father and sister…it feels like something…bad…happened with them…OW!” I felt my head try to tear itself apart with enough force to rival six consecutive headaches making me fall to the ground.  
“Soren! Are you okay?” Yang asked crouching down to help me.  
“It feels like my head is blocking out everything for some reason.” I replied trying to stand up; when I looked at Yang I was surprised to see she was frozen…completely unmoving, “What…just happened?...ow! What the hell is up with these headaches!”  
“Annoying aren’t they?” Who was that!? I spun looking around as I pulled out Twin Soul; as I looked around I saw a shadow approaching me…it wasn’t a grim though…I could sense an aura.  
“Who are you?” I asked and he chuckled for a minute before stepping out of the shadows; he was a tall man and he was dressed in a large cloak that covered most of his body with his boots sticking out of the bottom…what’s this feeling?...It feels like something is making my hairs stand on end.  
“I’m a friend…you may not remember me…but is that so bad?”  
“What do you mean? I can’t remember who I am and it feels hollow…I want to know who I am.”  
“Your past is covered in more blood than you can understand.”  
“What!? No…that can’t be…”  
“Why do you think you know how to fight so well? How else could you have figured it out?”  
“Every memory of combat is against a creature…I don’t remember any fights that could have done that!”  
“Then I think it’s time you remembered something.” Suddenly a flash made some…weird creature appear next to him…it looked humanoid in shape but it had weird hands and a tail, “Mewtwo if you would.” The creature extended its hand at me and I felt my head begin to hurt. Visions appeared, fights with…Alice?...Gareth?...Lily? Why am I fighting them…and why does my heart hurt while I look at them locked in combat with…me?  
“What…what was that!?” I asked feeling my heart in pain over what I just saw.  
“That was the past you’ve been trying to recall…and it hurts doesn’t it? Are you sure you want that back?”  
“Why wouldn’t I?”   
“Well what if you recover everything…and then attack those you care about?”  
“!”  
“Those people were important to you and you attacked them…what if you did the same to your friends here once you got back your memory.” …I could…hurt these guys when I get them back?  
“But…I…”  
“If you would like I can have him return all your memories…and you can deal with the consequences.” !  
“NO!” I shouted gripping my head defensively, “…I…not yet…if that’s true…then…I need time.”  
“Very well…hopefully we should not have to meet again.” With those words he disappeared into the shadows leaving me there…I had a chance to get back my memories…but what I got back in that moment…do I really want more of that back?  
“Soren?” I looked over to see Yang started moving again, “Are you okay?”  
“…Yeah…just a small headache…like I always get.” I knocked lightly against my head and chuckled, “Come on, let’s keep moving.” With that we dropped the conversation and headed for the entrance it total silence.

Approaching the entrance to the woods I looked to see Weiss, Velvet and Port all standing there looking at us; guess we finished up last.  
“There you are. How did your patrol go?” Mister Port asked.  
“Slightly more grim to the west than expected.” Yang replied.  
“Well there were none to the north.” Weiss said.  
“And just a handful to the east.” Port added, “I guess their packs are a bit random in placement.”  
“Yeah but nothing we couldn’t handle.” Yang said knocking against my shoulder playfully making me nod and chuckle; suddenly Weiss walked over and eyed me before giving a small whiff.  
“Good, you don’t stink so I’m happy.”  
“Oh…well…good?” I said confused.  
“That’s right good; now let’s head for Oobleck’s class. I don’t want to be late.” As we walked away I heard a small ping and looked to see money added to my finances…right, I have to give half of it to Yang.

As I sat in Oobleck’s class he talked about the faunus history; I sat next to Velvet near the front as Oobleck sped around the room pointing at different points on the map…but I couldn’t focus very well considering…the circumstances. Those memories of attacking those three still replayed in my mind…but no matter how many times I thought about it the hurt in my heart didn’t go away, in fact it became worse every time; I looked down at my hands to see they were trembling slightly. Is this what my past is…hurting those I care about…do I really want those memories back?  
“Mister Arc so nice of you to contribute to the class!” Hearing Oobleck’s voice roused me from my own thoughts and had me jump slightly; I looked over to see he was currently in front of Jaune to my relief, I didn’t even know what the question was. As Jaune stumbled to answer he looked over at Pyrrha who was feeding him the answer…binoculars?  
“Binoculars!” Jaune answered making every one laugh and making me feel stupid.  
“That is incorrect. Mister Winchester?” Oobleck asked looking a row up at Cardin who was laying back in his seat.  
“Well I know it’s a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier.” Cardin answered making me grip my fist.  
“You’re not the most open minded individual are you?” Pyrrha said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.  
“You got a problem!?”  
“No, I have the answer. It’s night vision. All faunus are known to have almost perfect vision in the dark.” Oh…night vision. When class was over I left the class room for Oobleck to speak with Jaune and Cardin; hearing a low grumble from my stomach I headed for the dining hall and sat down next to Weiss who was daintily eating her salad.  
“…Hey Soren?” Weiss said grabbing my attention.  
“Whatf uf Weiff?” I asked as I chewed my steak.  
“Finish your food! Geez, you’re as bad as Nora” Swallowing I gave a satisfied breath and looked at Weiss.  
“Sorry, what do you need?”  
“Well in class you seemed distracted…as well as coming back from the forest so I thought I should check if something was wrong.” I chuckled quietly at her blush as she tried to be nice…there she is again…Alice; the memory of me attacking her appeared again making me feel hurt again.  
“I…I’m fine.”  
“Now I don’t believe that for a second! Tell me now!” She said looking angrily at me, “Don’t you trust me?”…trust…that word feels important.  
“Alright…I’ll tell you. On our way back to you guys I had another headache and then…this guy in a cloak appeared.”  
“A guy in a cloak?” I gave a small jump seeing Ruby sitting across from us suddenly.  
“Where did you come from!?” Weiss asked surprised by her appearance as well.  
“We’ve been here for a while now.” Ruby said pointing to Blake, Nora and Ren who sat next to her.  
“…I never notice you guys sitting there.” I said still surprised by their appearance.  
“That’s okay; now tell us about the guy in the cloak.”  
“Well he froze Yang in place and appeared alongside this weird creature. I think he called it…Mewtwo, he used it to unlock pieces of my memory.”  
“Well what did you remember?” Weiss asked and I clenched my fork and knife tightly.  
“…Memories…of my worst battles.”  
“Battles you lost?” Ren asked.  
“No…battles against those three in my memory. Against Lily, against Gareth and…against Alice; every time I think about those memories it hurts…to think I would hurt people I care about…that’s who I was…and it scares me.”  
“Are you sure it was you?” Weiss asked making me give her a confused look, “Well I’ve known you for about a month now and I have to say; you’re an idiot. You ruined my uniform and pitied me on our first spar against each other; you knocked me out of my chair practicing aura and that was all on the first day…but everything you did you apologized for literally two seconds after meeting and then again later after it was said and done. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you it’s that you wouldn’t hurt anyone you don’t hate; even people you don’t know would be safe around you. You wouldn’t hurt me right?”  
“Of course not! You or Ruby or Blake or any of the others.” Once I said that I felt her lightly knock against my head.  
“Then it couldn’t have been you. I’m sure of that…okay?” She gave me a smile…and it felt warm and sincere…and a little familiar…Alice…  
“Thanks Weiss. That makes me feel a lot better.” I said giving her a smile.  
“W-W-Well don’t get used to it! I just don’t want to see you sulking in class…i-it’s distracting.”  
“Why do you watch him in class?” Ruby asked.  
“Quiet you!” Everyone laughed as Weiss sat down looking away from everyone with an embarrassed blush on her face; Weiss is right…I am who I am and nothing can change that but the future…but that means my past has shaped who I am now…if that is the case then those moments are someone else’s memories…why would that guy give me someone else’s memories? As I thought Pyrrha slammed her tray down on the table startling everyone; she sat down and started tearing into her dinner with such force and anger I was scared to ask anything?  
“Something wrong Pyrrha?” Thank you Nora for being braver than the rest of us.  
“I’m fine…just wondering about our leader and his stubbornness!” She said gripping her bread until it broke into pieces in her hand.  
“Ooohh trouble in paradise.”   
“Nora!” Ren said pulling her back.  
“Maybe someone should talk to him.” I said thinking.  
“No I’m sure he knows JUST WHAT HE’S DOING!” Pyyrha said cutting her steak as it broke her plate in half…I didn’t know Pyrrha could be terrifying…learn something new every day I guess.


	7. Chapter 7 (Seperation)

"That's the match." Goodwitch said stepping onto the ring as I caught my breath; I had just beaten one of the other students and kept my record pretty clean, so far none of the other students have beaten me but I haven't fought against anyone besides Weiss and I still wanted to take on Pyrrha at least once, "Well done Mister Thain."

"Thank you Miss Goodwitch." I replied feeling embarrassed from her compliment.

"Now as students from other schools will be coming to Vale for the Vytal festival the staff is going to set up for their arrival. The rest of today is yours to spend as you like." Goodwitch walked off as everyone began to leave the hall; I moved out of the ring and went over to Ruby and the gang who were making idle chatter.

"Well done Soren. I quiet enjoyed your match." Pyrrha said in her chipper tone.

"Why do you always hold back on your enemies?" Weiss asked.

"He holds back?" Jaune said surprised and I shrugged.

"Answer the question. You could have taken that girl out quicker than that and I know it."

"Weiss why do you know that?" Ruby asked.

"I fought him and he did better than that without an aura."

"Until the end when those blast rounds cost him the match." Yang said snickering and I chuckled making Weiss glare at me.

"Anyway what should we do with the rest of the day?" I asked.

"We could play Remnant?" Ren offered.

"No, Yang's poker face is too perfect I can never tell if she has a trap set up." I said making Yang laugh.

"I say we should head to Vale to see how the Vytal festival is being set up." Weiss said with a strange twinkle in her eye.

"Well me and Jaune have to be somewhere right now so we'll call a rain check on that." Pyrrha said dragging Jaune off somewhere.

"Let's go check the fairground Ren." Nora suggested.

"I was actually thinking of studyi-"

"To the fairgrounds!" Nora shouted grabbing Ren and rushing out of the room.

"So…Vale?" Yang said with a smirk.

As we walked around Vale Weiss had a smile on her face and looked around with a look in her eyes that…honestly frightened me, she never smiled this much…and I think Ruby felt the same way from the look on her face.

"Oh the Vytal festival! How wonderful."

"Weiss you are way too happy about this…and it's kind of scaring me." I said backing up slightly.

"How can you not be, a festival dedicated to the cultures of the world and the people. The amount of planning and scheduling that goes into it is amazing!"

"You really know how to make a festival sound boring Weiss." Yang said making Weiss glare at her.

"Quiet you." As we walked through the town I looked around seeing a plethora of people crowding the streets; some were dressed in exotic clothing giving me the feeling that they came from one of the other three kingdoms. With Weiss leading us we eventually came up to the docks and taking a whiff of the air I could tell they were transporting manure…or rotten fish; as I looked around I saw ships coming into port, some were cargo ships and others were school designated ships that dropped off students from other kingdoms.

"Why did we come to the docks on our afternoon off?" Yang asked leaning against the nearby metal fence.

"Aren't students from other schools coming in today?" Ruby asked.

"That's right, and as representatives of Beacon we should welcome them." Weiss sadi sounding high and might.

"Weiss…you hate people." I said.

"She wants to check out the competition." Blake said confidently and Weiss scoffed.

"You can't prove that." She retorted. I looked away and noticed some police had set up around a shop.

"Guys." I said grabbing there attention and pointed to the police; we walked over and I noticed that it was a dust shop that had been smashed up, "Another dust shop?"

"What happened?" Ruby asked the policeman.

"Robbery." He answered simply as another cop came up to him.

"It's the second shop to be hit this week. You think it's the White Fang?"

"Yeah I don't think we get paid enough." With that they walked into the building leaving us slightly more in the dark then before.

"Aren't the White Fang the faunus that want equality but use violence to get it?" I asked trying to remember what I found out.

"A bunch of degenerates." Weiss said with a scoff.

"They've been causing more trouble than usual though." Blake said in thought, "What would they need with that much dust?"

"Maybe they're launching an attack." Weiss said making Yang and Ruby roll their eyes while Blake glared at her.

"Let's save judgment for later and come back to this topic later. We're here to check out the festival remember." I said trying to get rid of the crushing tension; we walked away from the store we headed back to the docks, suddenly I heard someone shouting from out near the ships.

"Stop those four!" We all looked down to see a blond guy in a white open button up running while three others followed behind him…wait…these three look…familiar.

Third-Person

"You no good stowaways!" The man yelled at them as they ran.

"Hey! A no good stowaway would have been caught, I'm a great stowaway!"

"This was a terrible idea."

"At least we made it to Vale."

"I don't want to be seen as a criminal Gareth!"

"No one cares about stowaways, right Lily?"

"Alice m-might have a point." Lily pointed to the two policemen that were currently heading there way.

"Gareth, if we go to jail because of your idea…I WILL HURT YOU!" Alice said grabbing the collar of his sports vest.

"Don't worry guys. Just follow my lead." The faunus said as the police approached him.

"Hey you, get down here this instance!" One of them said; the faunus threw a banana peel at them.

"Go!" He yelled jumping over them as Alice, Gareth and Lily pushed through them and followed him up the stairs; they all dashed down the road and he looked over to the group and Alice took a quick glance seeing a girl with bright yellow hair, a girl with black hair and a hair bow, a girl with white hair in a ponytail, a shorter girl with brown hair with red ends and a boy with brown scruffy hair all giving them a surprised look.

"Wha-" Alice shook off the feeling and kept following the faunus as they rounded the street corner and into an alley; stopping for a minute they watched as the police kept running down the street past them.

"Great plan Sun, you really left us a great opening there!" Alice said sarcastically at Sun who just laughed.

"C-Couldn't we have just taken the school boat?" Lily asked taking a quick breath.

"That wouldn't have been any fun." Gareth said still full of energy.

"I could do without less fun right now." Alice said with a sigh.

"Well we're in Vale now." Sun said, "You sure he's here?"

"Positive." Alice replied confidently, "After that news story I'm positive it's him."

"Really? Positive?" Gareth asked.

"Who else can you think of when I say this, 'Local boy clothed in black stops dust shop robbery single handily with dual blades.' Anyone else come to mind?" Both Gareth and Lily shook their heads, "Thought so, now let's go find him."

"T-The town is massive though." Lily said holding out a map of Vale.

"She has a point." Sun said, "It's not like he's right around the corner."

Soren

The group of four quickly dashed past us and ran around the corner out of sight; as they passed by I thought I saw the three from my…no, couldn't be, it's just my mind playing tricks on me, I'm sure they're completely different people.

"There goes the competition." Yang said nudging Weiss.

"Quickly, we have to observe them!" Weiss proclaimed rushing forward; looks like I'm about to find out if it's my mind or actually them. Rounding the corner Weiss knocked into a girl knocking them both over, "Ow…oh!" Weiss quickly got up and dusted herself off as the girl lied on the ground; Weiss looked around and grumbled, "They're gone!"

"Weiss, bigger problems." I said pointing to the orange haired girl still on the ground.

"Salutations." The girl said waving to us.

"Um…hi." Ruby replied confused.

"Um…are you okay?" Yang asked.

"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking." She said still lying there.

"Would you…like to get up?" I asked and she looked at herself.

"Yes I would." She replied getting up and looking at us. She had this innocent almost ignorant look to her eyes and was dressed very plainly…almost doll like and yet something about her aura put me on edge…I'm sure it's nothing, "I'm Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello Penny, I'm Ruby."

"My name is Weiss."

"Blake."

"Soren."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Blake quickly hit Yang's arm, "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Penny said…again.

"You already said that." Weiss said and Penny went into deep thought for a moment.

"…So I did."

"Well sorry for running into you." Weiss said as we turned around.

"See you later Penny." I said with a wave goodbye.

"Take care friend." Ruby said as we walked away.

"That was…strange." I said scratching my head; she was almost robotic in her movements and responses…but she couldn't be, she looked like a normal girl.

"I think we lost those guys." Yang said looking around.

"Rats! Where did those degenerates run off to?" Suddenly Weiss stopped and I looked up front to see Penny standing in front of us…what!? How did she- where did she-

"What did you call me?" She asked.

"Um…strange?" I said and she blew past me to Ruby.

"Not you…you."

"Um…I-I-I-I don't- well um-" Ruby stuttered.

"You called me a friend! Are we friends?"

"Um…" Ruby looked back at us and Weiss, Blake and Yang were all shaking their heads while I gave a shrug; what's the worst that could happen," Sure…why not?" The other three gave a look of surprise and Penny grabbed Ruby into a hug.

"Sensational! We can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys!" And just like that it became worse than I could imagine.

"Weiss was I like this when you first met me?" Ruby asked.

"No, she seems far more coordinated." Weiss replied.

"So why are you in Vale?" Yang asked.

"I'm going to fight in the tournament!" She replied.

"Really?...You look like a normal girl." I said looking her up and down.

"I'm combat ready!" She replied with a salute.

"You hardly look the part." Weiss said.

"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake retorted.

"It's a combat skirt." She said defensively at which Ruby gave her a low five.

"I don't think a combat skirt is a thing." I said pretty sure of what I was saying.

"Shows what you know…wait…if that's true then you must know the degenerates from the boat!" Weiss said grabbing Penny's shoulders.

"The who?"

"The filthy rapscallions from the boat!" Weiss held up a crude picture of the faunus up to Penny.

"Stop it!" Blake yelled at Weiss, "Stop calling them degenerates, stop calling them riff-raff, stop calling them rapscallions, they're people!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you also like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can or the lamp post as a lamp post?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what. Give them time and they'll probably become part of some criminal organization like the White Fang!"

"Wait…why do you think they were all faunus?" I asked.

"Knowing scoundrels like him he probably hangs around with other faunus scum."

"You ignorant brat!" Blake yelled walking away from us.

"How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!" Weiss yelled storming after Blake.

"You are a judgmental little girl!"

"What makes you say that!?" They continued to bicker and argue as we stood there in disbelief at their sudden intense conversation.

"Um…maybe we should go." Yang suggested.

"Where are we going?" Penny asked making me sigh.

Alice

We sat at a noodle stand enjoying large bowls scarfing down every bit we could get; when I finished I pushed my bowl away rubbing my now full stomach…and now I had a gut…I'll work it off before I find Soren.

"Ahhh, that has to be the best bowl of noodles I have ever eaten." Gareth said with a satisfied smile on his face, I looked over at Lily to see she had eaten half her bow and then pushed it away.

"Too much." She said looking slightly nauseous; I looked over at Sun to see he was still eating his bowl; we had been on that boat for three days straight with no food so when we got here he offered to cover lunch for us and I took him up on that.

"Alright guys, we're in Vale for the tournament as far as anyone else is concerned but remember-"

"We're looking for Soren." Lily said interrupting me.

"We already know Alice, we aren't going to forget." Gareth added, "But we have no lead except the news report from weeks back, he could be anywhere by now."

"Doubt it." Sun added making all of us turn our attention to him, "The Vytal tournament has people from all over the world, if he's going to be anywhere he's going to be here with everyone else. It might be a few weeks before anything happens though so mind if we do something first?" Oh god what does he need' the last plan he wanted us to take part in had us in detention for a week after what he did.

"Fine…but if you get caught by the cops were ditching you."

"Alice!" Lily said surprised.

"What? Those seem like simple terms. I'm not getting stuck in jail while we're looking for Soren."

"You sound just like Neptune." Sun said chuckling; I was fine with that, Neptune actually had a brain…and was pretty cool…and handsome…damn it, every time…alright I'm looking for Soren and not thinking about cool Neptune…Neptune- damn it!

"So where are we headed?"

"To Beacon."

"Beacon?" Gareth asked.

"The Huntsman Academy in Vale, it stands on par with Shade, Atlas and Haven. All four of them participate in the Vytal festival tournament." Lily explained.

"Why Beacon? You want to spy on our enemies?" Gareth asked.

"Not exactly."

"…You're not trying to be creepy are you?" I asked glaring at him, "Cause I have enough of that from Gareth."

"Hey!"

"Stop standing in front of the women's locker room and I won't call you creepy!"

"…I can't make that promise."

"Thought so. Now why Beacon?"

"There's someone there…I need to check on."

"…So you are being creepy." Why is he always being creepy!?

Soren

"You know that's not what I meant and you know it!" Blake retorted. We had made it back to the dorm room but the argument between Weiss and Blake continued to escalate to the point where I could feel the tension crushing me.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Weiss said.

"That IS the problem!"

"You realize you're defending an organization that hates humanity don't you? The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil." Pure…evil?

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like me!?" Stepping forward I put a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Blake maybe you should take a moment to calm down-"

"No!" Blake said brushing me off, "She's discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" Weiss yelled followed by a moment of tense silence between the two of them, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the faunus?" Weiss turned to the window and looked out into the endless darkness of the night, "…It's because my family has been at war with them for years; war, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember and ever since I was a child I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed, an entire train car full of dust…stolen…and every day my father would come home furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood!" I saw Weiss's hands ball into a fist as she shook with anger. Ruby stepped towards Weiss extending her hand.

"Weiss I-"

"No!" She retorted turning around to glare at Blake, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang!? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves and murderers!"

"WELL MAYBE WE WERE JUST TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND!" What!? Everyone instantly had the same look of surprise as me; did she just say we!? Was she-

"Blake…are you-" Before I could finish Blake darted to the door and disappeared down the hall into the darkness.

"Blake! Wait!" Ruby yelled running to the door, "Come back!" Yang sat there in shock while Ruby had a worried look on her face as she looked down the hall; I turned to Weiss who turned from surprise to a look of anger.

"Weiss…what does this mean?"

"I think it's pretty obvious Soren!" As unstable and angry as she was I knew she was right…but it was still hard to believe…Blake couldn't be a murderer…then again…I might be myself…I don't know what to believe.

Third-Person

Blake ran through the school grounds until she came upon the statue a the front of the school; it was a statue of two hunters standing over a cliff that seem to crush a grim underneath it but for Blake it felt like she was that grim right now. Reaching up to her bow she pulled at the string loose and pulled the ribbon off revealing a set of cat ears that twitched as the wind hit them, Blake looked down at the ground feeling like she was about to cry.

"I told you she would look better without the bow." Blake turned her head to see the monkey faunus and other three standing behind her with the faunus giving her a smile while the others looked confused and surprised.

"…I still think this is being creepy."


	8. Chapter 8 (Reunion)

"Lily? Are you okay?"

"Oh…Soren...s-sorry for waking you."

"No, I just got up for a glass of water…what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

"W-Well I just woke up in my dream…a-and I was back in my house. B-But I was alone, no brother, no mom and no dad. I-I-I went looking for you and the others but…you guys didn't know me…and for some reason that scared me more than ever before…b-but even when I met you a-and the others you didn't act any different from how you were."

"What do you mean?"

"I m-mean that you still acted like I was worth trusting…Gareth gave me his usual giant grin and Alice wondered if I wanted to sit down and read with her…it was like…you all forgot me."

"But not the feeling of knowing you."

"Huh?"

"Lily you just said that we acted the same way as you knew us. Maybe we forgot you but our feeling of knowing you was still there. That's why our actions didn't change…even though our memories did."

"What does this mean? I-I know a lot of facts but…dreams are a b-bit of a blank area in my knowledge."

"…Don't worry. Dreams show us our hopes, our fantasies…and our fears…"

"That's definitely not an ordinary dream."

"You really think so Alice?"

"I know so; I had that same dream last night."

"Really?"

"Same here."

"Y-You to Gareth."

"What about you Soren?"

"No…not at all…you all felt forgotten?"

"It was…eerie. I sat there for hours but nobody came to my room…then when I called Soren he asked who this was…and then apologized like an idiot…like he always did when he felt like he did something wrong to me…I called Lily and Gareth but it was the same with them…familiar but distant…I felt scared."

"I got up from my bed and headed over to the hospital; when I got there Alice asked who I was and I was surprised. I looked for Lily and Soren and found the same had happened to them…but they acted the same as when they knew me…but they didn't remember, I felt alone again…it was wrong."

"All of you…had the same dream?"

"I d-don't want to have that dream again though."

"Me either."

"Ditto."

"…So what does it mean Alice?"

"…Ever since I've been in this bed I've had different dreams. They were like a window to the outside…and my own problems…I've spent time analyzing ever dream I've ever had and…they all tried to tell me what I learned on our first adventure…the world was still beautiful even from where I was."

"So the dream is trying to tell you guys something?"

"M-Maybe."

"I can't think of what it could be though."

"…Well when you all met the other three they acted the same as when you knew them…maybe that has something to do with it?"

"W-Well the brain will try to return to its natural setting…maybe it is trying to remember something."

"So we forgot each other…but we tried to remember?"

"A-Actually I think the memories were still there…b-but they were just out of reach. That's why we acted the same but didn't remember."

"Forgotten…"

"Is something wrong Soren?"

"I…it's just weird to think that I could forget any of you…you all mean so much that I can't think of forgetting you guys."

"M-Maybe that's it."

"What do you mean Lily?"

"W-We may forget each other…but we'll never FORGET each other…we'll still be in each other's memory however deep we may be in…"

"…I still don't like it."

"I agree with Alice. Even forgetting would be too much."

"…It's frightening to think about."

"T-Then how about this; if one of us ever forgets the others than the rest of us will be there to help bring them back."

"What do you mean?"

"L-Let's say that you forget the rest of us Gareth, a-at that moment Soren, Alice and I will do everything we can to help you remember us…and the same for the rest of us…even if one of us is left to remember the others-"

"We'll still be there to bring the others memories back…right?"

"Right Soren, d-does that work for you guys to?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"If I have to I'll work to the end to bring the memories back…even my own."

"T-Then that's a promise. Gareth?"

"Promise. Alice?"

"Promise. Soren?"

"…Promise." Opening my eyes to the ceiling I felt my eyes water slightly; damn it not know…I don't have time to worry about myself Blake is still missing…why now!?

Alice

We sat at a café enjoying tea and coffee in silence; it's been nearly two days and the only thing Blake has said to us was small topics and gave Sun weird looks while we followed behind, she put the bow back on her head and stayed mostly quiet so it was very awkward for us. On another note we couldn't find Soren anywhere in town which made the situation even more irritating for me; while Gareth and Lily coped with the situation by doing their respective tasks. Gareth kept things light and tried to cheer everybody up but Blake seemed intent on being in a sour mood even with Sun piling it on; Gareth and Sun were too similar and it just made the situation more irritating for Blake…and me. Lily kept her nose to her journal writing down her daily entry as well as what she could get out of Blake; needless to say she had less than a page of information.

"…So…" Blake began surprising all of us, "You want to know more about me?"

"Finally she speaks." Sun said, "Nearly two days and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks." Blake glared at him not appreciating the 'weird looks' comment, "Yeah, like that."

"Sorry, he's an idiot." I said shaking my head, "Continue." Blake rolled her eyes and continued speaking.

"Are you guys familiar with the White Fang?" Lily immediately pulled out her book.

"The White Fang. A group of activist rights faunus who have been trying to gain equality between humans and faunus for years and have recently begun using force in order to make their point. Many people see them as terrorists and murders as opposed to their protestor beginning."

"They use force to get what they want." Gareth added kicking his feet up.

"Bunch of freaks if you ask me." Sun said sipping his tea…which he held with his tail- just use your hands!

"I…was once a member of the White Fang." Blake said making all of us stop in surprise while Lily spit up her tea and Sun coughed his down.

"Smooth Sun." I said as he took a deep breath.

"Wait a minute…YOU were a member of the White Fang?"

"I was a member for most of my life actually. I was almost born into it, but back then things were different. In the ashes of war the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of unity between the humans and the faunus…of course despite being promised equality the faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate, humanity still thought of us as lesser beings and so the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people and I was there. I was at the front of every rally; I took part in every boycott and I actually thought I was making a difference…but I was just a youthful optimist. Then five years ago our leader stepped down and a new one took his place."

"I'm guessing he had a different approach to gaining equality?" Gareth asked suddenly getting more serious…I'm guessing this topic was partially sensitive to him.

"That's right; it was a new leader…with a new way of thinking. Suddenly our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used faunus labor."

"B-But that c-couldn't have worked…could it?" Lily asked sounding scared of the answer…so was I though.

"I wish it didn't work…but they weren't treating us as equals out of respect…it was out of fear." Blake took a deep breath setting down her now empty cup, "So I left, I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence and instead dedicate my life to becoming a huntress. So here I am, a criminal hiding in plain view…all with the help of a little black bow." Her cat ears shook underneath the bow as she said that; honestly from what Lily told us about them I was surprised to find a member who wasn't either dead or still working form them…but she hid in plain sight with one little addition…it made me a little sad to see her hide something out of shame and regret…I knew that feeling…and so did the others.

"So…have you told your friends about it?" Sun asked in a more serious tone than I've ever heard from him.

Soren

"Blake!"…nothing.

"Blake!"…still nothing.

"Blake!"…Damn it where was she; she's been missing for almost two days now and everyone was starting to worry; even team JNPR was wondering where she was and the fact that we couldn't give them a clear answer makes me all the more worried.

"Weiss you're not helping." Ruby said turning around to Weiss.

"You know who could help? The police." She suggested.

"Weiss."

"It was just an idea."

"Yeah a bad one."

"I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang said trying to break the tension.

"I think when we hear it you'll all realize I'm right."

"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today." Jumping forward I looked back in shock to see Penny standing there.

"How do you keep doing that!?" I asked surprised; nobody should be THAT quiet…especially Penny…well maybe…focus Soren.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?"

"We're looking for Blake? Have you seen her?"

"The faunus girl? Unfortunately no."

"How did you know that?" Ruby asked.

"The cat ears of course." She replied pointing to her bow.

"What cat ears she wears…a…bow." Yang stopped realizing what she was saying; it was dead silent as we all realized how she hid it.

"…That explains mating season." I said quietly.

"She does like tuna…A LOT." Ruby added.

"So where is she?" Penny asked.

"We don't know she's been missing since Friday."

"Then I would be glad to lend my services. I will not rest until we have found her!" As Penny spoke passionately Weiss grabbed my arm dragging me away as Yang followed.

"Um…what are you-"

"I am not dealing with both of them at once. It's like dealing with two Rubys."

"Okay but are we sure-"

"Positive, let's go!" Weiss abruptly ended our debate there as she let go and I followed behind her and Yang. As we checked different areas the same question rolled around in my head since Friday night when Blake ran away…guess this is as good a time as any

"Hey Weiss?"

"What?"

"You're very mad at Blake right now but…why?"

"Are you stupid? She's a part of the criminal group that has attacked humanity for years, one of the faunus that robbed, murdered and stole! Why wouldn't I be mad!?"

"That's just the thing though. When we had this talk about me a few weeks back you took it much differently; I told you that I hurt others; that I might very well have killed in my past…and you still trusted me…why?"

"Because I don't believe that someone like you would hurt others."

"And you think Blake would?" When I asked that she went silent, unable to give me an answer, "I'm going to ask you what you asked me a while back…do you really think Blake would hurt others?"

"I…I don't know…and that's why I'm mad. I'm mad because I don't know if I can trust my teammate…and the uncertainty is tearing me up."

"…Our past makes us who we are today…and I think that if Blake were a killer…and didn't care about humanity then she wouldn't be your teammate. She would still be a member of the White Fang…and she most likely would have killed you." I said honestly making her look in surprise, "The daughter of the Schnee dust company sleeping in the same room peacefully…and she didn't make a move…think about it."

"Then why did she run?"

"Some secrets eat us alive and cause us to act irrationally…this must have been hers…and I'm sure you have yours."

"Soren…I want to trust her…but I don't know all the facts…and it makes me wonder if I can trust her or not."

"Then let's find her…and you can find out what she meant…until then though I want you to try to see Blake in a brighter light. Regardless of who she was, she's your teammate and that means you have to try to trust her."

"Alright…I'll try…but I won't make any promises."

"As long as you try." As the conversation finished up Yang stepped out of the shop.

"Thanks anyway." Yang said waving to the clerk as she left, "Nothing."

"It's strange to think that we can't find her anywhere around the city." I said thinking out loud.

"What if she's not in the city?" Weiss suggested.

"Weiss!" Yang said…wait…not in the city…

"I have an idea…you guys keep checking shops…try places that serve tea. I've got to check somewhere." With that I rushed towards the outskirts of town where the docks where; she wouldn't leave town but maybe she would be at the spot least likely to be checked…I'd better hurry to, it's getting dark.

Alice

"So what now?" Sun asked as we walked the streets.

"I still don't think the White Fang are behind the robberies." Blake said thinking, "They've never needed that much dust before." …but…

"What if they did?" I asked making her turn to me, "If they did steal dust then wouldn't they go after the next supply they can find?"

"And if they didn't do the robberies then we wouldn't find them there!" Gareth said realizing my logic.

"B-But where would they hit next?" Lily asked.

"Wait didn't a few guys on the ship mention offloading a shipment of dust?" Sun asked.

"Don't know, I was probably STARVING at that point." I retorted glaring at him; what kind of guy doesn't pack food for a three day trip.

"How big?" Blake asked.

"HUGE, big Schnee company freighter."

"Sounds like we have our mark then. Let's head to the docks and scope out till we see someone." With that we followed Blake to the docks as the dark of night set in; guess it's a night scope out.

"Are we doing a real stake out!?" Gareth said sounding excited, "We're going to need food."

"I'm on it." Sun said bounding away.

"Don't steal it!" I shouted hoping he heard me…which he probably didn't…or more likely didn't care.

When we made it to the docks we took position on the roof of one of the flat buildings; eventually the freighter showed up and offloaded the crates meaning all we had to do was watch them until morning or until something happened. Sitting down I pulled out my katana checking it for any nicks or damage, I didn't get a chance to clean it before boarding the boat so I had to make sure it was still good. It was a katana but had a modifying edge that I could add dust into to make it much more dangerous; I kept a mini gun holstered to my side with blunt rounds as backup. Ever since we came to this world we had to adapt to the rules and with the help of Haven we were able to adapt well…and one of our starting points was the weapons. Gareth used a battle axe that could detach from the handle onto a chain and be swung like a flail at enemies and surprisingly he could control it very well considering his axe had a much narrower room to hit effectively than an actual flail; he also kept a shotgun holstered for when he got a bit too close to his enemies. Lily used a large scythe that changed into a normal staff that she could maneuver around easier and extend to do pole vaults; it was interesting to watch her swing the staff and then when she got an opening changed to a scythe and decimated her enemies, she also kept a rifle on her back which she was very precise with…after a week, she did have the one weapon that needed to be precise to hit. Good, no problems with Enchanter…maybe I should figure out a better name; then again Gareth's is Earth Breaker, Lily's makes sense at least, Reaper was a good pick. Our style also remained pretty much the same with an added sash for our rounds and weapon; I was able to find a good small green jacket and red shirt that matched my white skirt and a pair of sports shorts underneath to keep perverts from seeing anything, my shoes were white sneakers that were comfortable and nice. Gareth wore a red sports vest with tight black jeans and brown boots while Lily now wore a white hoodie with a brown skirt and simple all-purpose shoes in a black color.

"Got it." I looked behind me to see Sun had finally shown up with some apples.

"Did you steal it?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake asked.

"Hey weren't you in a cult or something?" Blake gave him a glare and I chuckled.

"Good job there Sun."

"Got it, too soon." Suddenly the wind whipped up as a helicopter flew overhead and landed on the docks; I watched as a few men came out in strange outfits with a design on the back; it was a red wolf with claw marks behind it.

"Oh no." Blake said.

"It's them isn't it?" Gareth asked and she nodded.

"You really didn't think it was them." Sun said and Blake sighed.

"No…deep down I knew it was them."

"We're not exactly the most inconspicuous group of thieves right now. Let's pick up the pace!" I looked down to the voice to see a man with red hair in a bowler hat and white coat…I think his name was Roman Torchwick…kind of sounds like a pokemon.

"This isn't right; the White Fang would never work with a human." Blake stood up pulling out her blade, "Especially one like that." Blake jumped down surprising all of us; we hadn't even come up with a plan yet...geez she's almost as bad a Soren when she gets worked up! Blake quickly moved up on Torchwick and held him hostage as she spoke to the other members of the White Fang; suddenly a group of helicopters surrounded the docks…this was not good.

"Blake, look at your feet!" What? That voice…is that Soren?

Soren

As I sat near one of the dust shipments I looked to see a helicopter land in the center; I didn't expect this, as I watched it land I saw some of the masked guys from the robbery before exit the vehicle and start looking at the Schnee shipments…which I was near- I should move.

"Alright grab the toe cables, well attach them to the ship and lift the dust out." Guess they were after the dust; Weiss would get mad if I just let them get away with the dust though...time to intervene.

"What's the hold up!?" That voice…couldn't be; I looked around the corner to see Roman Torchwick standing at the entrance to the helicopter, "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous group of thieves so why don't you animals pick up the pace." Unsheathing Twin Soul I looked at any opening to his back and moved forward; let's see how he likes a raccoon getting the drop on him. I stopped suddenly as Blake had appeared behind Roman and held her sword to his neck; guess I found her…not at the best moment though.

"Nobody move!" Blake yelled making the others stop in their tracks. As she stood there Blake removed her bow showing her cat ears, "Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum!"

"Didn't get the memo little cat? The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together."

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." Suddenly the air filled with the sound of multiple helicopters that surrounded the docks…this was not good. I looked back at them and saw Roman's cane pointed at Blake's feet.

"Blake, look at your feet!" Catching Roman's attention Blake looked at her feet to see his can pointed at them and as he pulled the trigger she backed up out of the blast range; I moved over to her and watched as Roman pointed his cane at us; we dashed away from his shots and moved behind a freighter catching our breaths, "I'm glad your safe Blake."

"What are you doing here Soren?"

"I thought you would come to the docks, least likely place to look…but I'm guessing you came for another reason. So how are we taking out those helicopters?" I asked handing her a small round of dust at which she slid into her blade.

"You don't have to help Soren, I can do this."

"Well you're my friend so I'm going to help regardless and Weiss will never forgive me if I just ditch Schnee cargo…and I think you could use a little leg up on forgiveness from her. Think saving her cargo will do?" I gave her a smile and she giggled slightly.

"Alright then, let's do this. If we can grab Roman then that should stop dust robbery."

"Or at least slow it. Let's go!" Blake dashed after Roman as he was currently fighting the monkey faunus from earlier, I should get rid of the White Fang soldiers while they deal with Roman. Dashing to the other side I swung my Twin Soul at two of them knocking them to the ground and I separated my blades and did a spin knocking a circle of them down. As another group of them approached me I reattached my blade and pulled out my blast pistol but before I could pull the trigger a large scythe crashed down piercing the ground and the wielder swung nocking the group of their feet and looked at me…she looked like Lily from my memory…ow!

"A-Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah…just a headache is all…look out!" I pushed her back as another White Fang member jumped at us; I moved to block but was surprised as an axe on a chain swung at him knocking him to the ground. The wielder jumped down and I heard a click as the axe head attached to the large pole; as the member stood up the wielder too another swing knocking the guy against the far wall…this guy looks like…Gareth…Ow!

"Geez, you look like hell." He said.

"I'm good…just give me a minute." Suddenly Blake came flying backwards and I looked to see Roman pointing his can at her, "Blake! Hang on!" Dashing forward I held up my blade to block.

"Raccoon you are really getting on my nerves here."

"Hey!" Turning our heads we saw Ruby standing on one of the buildings.

"Oh, Red. Isn't it past your bed time?"

"You seem to be past your curfew as well." I said making him return his attention to me, "I'm sure a lifetime of prison is a fitting punishment for you." He looked over at Ruby and shot a round that knocked her off her feet; taking the opportunity I swung at him at which he blocked and pushed me back smacking me with the cane. Taking another swing I quickly split my blade and as he blocked one I thrust at an unguarded point making him back up; as he got up he pointed his cane for another shot and I raised my blade to block. Before I could a wave of fire struck Roman sending him flying at a nearby helicopter; I looked over to see a girl holding a katana with a red edge…she looks like…Alice…OOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

"Soren!" I crashed to the floor gripping my head as it tore apart almost destroying me as I writhed in pain; too much was trying to come back…it hurts soooooo much….OOOOOWWWWWW! After a moment the pain began to fade and I stood up shakily to see the remnants of helicopter halves crashed into dust cargo as two helicopters got away…what happened…and how long was I out for…and why is Penny here!?

A few minutes later the police showed up and questioned all of us; I gave them the best recount I could up to the point I lost my vision of the situation at which Blake and Sun filled them in, the other three seemed distant and when I looked at them they didn't shift or change…I'm pretty sure they were actually Alice, Gareth and Lily. I sat there in silence as Blake explained her story to us; from the White Fang to now…I knew she couldn't a murderer, I may have only known her for about a month but Blake could never be a killer…but could I…not know…I should enjoy this moment. As we sat there I heard the familiar sound of high-heels and looked over to see Weiss and Yang approaching us; looks like they saw the explosion...and police.

"Weiss it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing, she actually has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute." Ruby stuttered as she tried to explain everything to Weiss who breezed by her heading straight for Blake.

"Weiss, I want you to know I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was-"

"Stop." Weiss said stopping Blake, "Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you?" There was a short pause before Weiss spoke again, "Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this and in that twelve hours I've decided that I don't care. You said you're no longer a part of them right?"

"No, I haven't been since-"

"Stop. I don't want to hear. All I want to know is that next time something this big comes up you'll come to your team and not…someone else."

"…Of course." Blake said with a smile. As Ruby cheered I moved over to Weiss.

"Weiss let go of a grudge? That's a first." I said chuckling.

"It's like you said. She's my teammate and I have to trust that she'll do the same…right?" She gave me a coy smile and a laughed.

"Right."

"You, on the other hand owe me a BIG time." She yanked at my ear obviously pissed at me, "You go missing for a few hours and the next thing I hear is an explosion. You had me worried sick!"

"Sorry! I went to the docks and ran into a much bigger problem than I expected. I said as my ear turned red.

"Well good to know you put yourself in tremendous danger! From now on your not going anywhere alone. Got it?"

"Got it, got it…please let go." Weiss released her grip on my ear and I rubbed it feeling the pain sting, "…It's nice to see you were worried."

"Quiet you." She replied turning red; I chuckled at her embarrassment and she turned redder, "By the way, those three seem to have their eyes glued to you." I looked over at where she was pointing to see Gareth, Lily and Alice still looking at me; Alice had this intense fire in her eyes that made me fear for my life for some reason…was I screwed over just now?

"I…I think there connected to my past."

"How?"

"You know how I saw different people sometimes when I looked at you, Velvet and Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Well there's you, Velvet and Yang." I said pointing to Alice, Lily and Gareth in that order.

"…I feel insulted. Why don't you talk to them?"

"…What if my past is painful? What if I AM a killer?"

"YOU aren't a killer and so help me I will pull that ear off if you don't talk to them got it!"

"Fine…I'll go."

"Don't worry…you'll be fine."

"Thanks Weiss…you're a great friend."

"Glad you finally acknowledged it…now go!" She pushed me forward and I walked over to the three people slowly. As I approached them I was suddenly knocked on the head by Alice out of nowhere, where did that come from!?

"YOU IDIOT! We've been looking for you for a month worried sick about what happened to you and we find you here flirting with girls. I'm going to rip you apart!"

"Haha! You really know how to push her buttons Soren…it's too much fun."

"Shut it Gareth!"

"A-Are you okay Soren…that's not a good bruise."

"He deserves it…I was really worried about him…hmph."

"Owww…um…you must be Alice, Gareth and Lily right?" They all gave me a confused look and nodded their heads, "I'm Soren…and I'm sorry to say that…I have no memory of you guys besides your name and looks." They all gave me a shocked look with Alice slightly more shocked than the others, "My earliest memory is waking up in Beacon's medical wing and my combat experience…I have no memory of anything else…I'm sorry but…that's all I have…and why did you hit me!?" They stood there with looks of shock and Alice stepped forward with a look of worry.

"Y-You don't have any memory of us?"

"Small pieces but nothing significant."

"Our adventures, the times we hung out…nothing?" I shook my head and she looked down sadly.

"Alice? Are you okay?" Gareth asked and Alice wiped her face with her sleeve.

"Yeah…just a little dust…so Soren…you know who we are…but not WHO we are to you?"

"Yeah…I'm sorry."

"No…I'm sorry for hitting you…but when we bring your memory back you'll know why." What?

"What?"

"We are going to bring your memory back…right guys?" Alice turned behind her to Gareth and Lily who nodded in agreement, "Soren…you're someone important to us…we've come this far looking for you and we're going to bring your memory back…you can't get rid of us." As I looked at them I felt a tear fall down my face and quickly wiped it away.

"I…I don't know why…but I think my heart doesn't want to get rid of you…and my mind agrees."

"Good." As we stood there I felt so many questions flood my mind for me to ask them…and some I didn't want to ask them…but those could wait…for the first time for as long as I could remember I didn't feel like I was tackling this problem alone…and I felt complete for some reason looking at these three…hopefully- no, I would figure out why!

Alice

"Now we all need some rest so let's all get some rest." I said with a smile making Gareth and Lily give me confused looks, "I'm sure Beacon has set up the guest dorms so we should be good."

"If not, I'm sure Soren will let us stay with him." Gareth said putting his arm around Soren.

"Sorry Gareth but I don't have my own room." Soren said moving out of his arm.

"Wait…so where are you staying?" Lily asked.

"I sleep in a sleeping bag in team RWBY's room." Soren replied pointing to the four girls behind us. So Soren is staying in a room with four girls…he's been sleeping there for a month now…in a room…with four girls…

"Alice why do you look so mad?" Lily asked and I took a breath.

"I'm fine...JUST…FINE."

"Am I allowed to be scared?" Soren asked Gareth and he chuckled.

"You're already getting back into the swing of things. That's good." Gareth replied patting his back…he was right though.

"Let's give him the full experience." I said smacking him on the head.

"Ow! Don't I get enough of this from Weiss?" I hit him again hearing that, I don't know about this Weiss girl but I already don't like her, she sounds too…familiar.

"We found Alice's double." Gareth said laughing.

"Quiet you!"

"Weiss says that too." Soren said rubbing his head making me hit him again; I REALLY didn't like this Weiss girl.


	9. Chapter 9 (Rekindling)

“See, there he is.”  
“Huh? I didn’t expect to see him here. How did you know Lily?”  
“When he’s not with us he’s with Lily.”  
“Really?”  
“Well…um…he enjoys listening to me read and I…enjoy his optimistic attitude.”  
“He is the most optimistic person I’ve ever met.”  
“Moving on, what is he so obsessed with?”  
“T-That game.”  
“He sucks at shooters though.”  
“I can hear you guys.”  
“Oh, hey Gareth…how long have you been playing?”  
“A few hours and all of yesterday.”  
“That explains the decrease of blatant stupidity.”  
“What about Soren?”  
“I said decrease…not lack.”  
“Not sure I like how this conversation is going…anyway what’s wrong?”  
“I…I just don’t want to feel like I have a gap in ability. After everything that’s happened I don’t just want to be the heavy hitter of the group.”  
“…Why is that a bad thing?”  
“What do mean Soren?”  
“All I’m saying is we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Alice has amazing speed and accuracy but her defense and attack is lackluster and her emotions are a bit haywire.”  
“Hey!”  
“Lily has great magical ability and is amazing with a scythe in both speed and power but her defense is low and while she’s smart her tactics…aren’t great. Remember that game of Risk we all played?”  
“She attacked her own forces.”  
“I-I’ll admit I d-don’t do well under pressure.”  
“And Soren is pretty good under pressure and a decent fighter but…denser than a wall of bricks and another case of weak defense.”  
“You guys really can’t take hits can you?”  
“That’s why we have you. You don’t have great speed but your power and defense are unmatchable.”  
“It just so happens that you aren’t very smart and you have no accuracy with fire arms…but horse shoes seem to be no problem.”  
“Haha, yeah that was fun!”  
“You beat us 2-24.”  
“Yeah and?”  
“Moving on if you need help with one of your weaknesses then you have us. We’re a team right?”  
“That means we work together…fight together!”  
“…Yeah…hahaha! Sorry guys. Guess I just forgot.”  
“I don’t think I like re-teaching old lessons.”  
“Well I do have a weakness right?”  
“Doesn’t mean I want to teach you ethics every other day! We’ve done this three times now!”  
“You okay Alice?”  
“I’m fine Lily…it’s just a process when dealing with Gareth…and Soren on occasion.”  
“Then let’s make a promise. Whenever we can, we fight together!”  
“If it gets me to stop teaching this lesson then I’ll agree to it.”  
“I-I like it.”  
“That’s a promise I’m willing to keep.”  
“Then it’s settled.”  
“Right…good promise Gareth.”  
“Hahaha! Did you expect less?”  
“Don’t get cocky Gareth.”  
“Well are you guys going to help or not?”  
“Alright, let’s show these goons what a crisis is…and I think we have enough time two.”  
“Was that a pun Alice? I didn’t expect you to make a pun…it’s cute.”  
“S-S-S-Shut up Soren!” Ow! Sitting up I looked around to see I was still in team RWBY’s room…another dream…but this time I know the people in it and I feel a sense of…nostalgia and…sadness; listening to these conversations just makes me feel like I’m missing something more important than I can even begin to comprehend…but why? Can those three really mean this much to me?  
“Soren?” I looked up to see Weiss looking at me with a worried look on her face, “Are you okay?”  
“Y-Yeah…just…another dream.”  
“Are you sure you’re okay?”  
“Yeah…why?”  
“You’re crying.” I put my hand to my eyes to feel a wetness coat my hand; I was crying.  
“I’ll be fine…just a little nostalgic about my memories…ironic considering I can’t remember.” Standing up I grabbed my uniform and walked over to the bathroom, “Now let’s get the day started…I’m sure there’s a lot to do.” Closing the door I felt my eyes water up again; damn it come on body, I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me but this is a little too intense for me to handle…is what I’m trying to remember really that important? …Why did it feel wrong to think that? 

“This is where your reign ends Yang Xiao Long! The forces of Vale will topple your Vacuo army!” I screamed passionately slamming my fist onto the table making the board slightly jostle; I was currently playing Remnant with Yang, Ruby and Ren and had my sights set on Yang’s forces.  
“We’ll see about that. Bring your worst!” Yang said bating me into attacking; little did she know I had a trick up my sleeve.  
“Let’s see how you handle this! Tidal Wave force!” I slammed the card down on the table, “This card washes away all ground forces from battle and because Vacuo is a dessert kingdom all your vehicles will be trapped in the mud that your sand kingdom has become.  
“But your forces will also be flushed away by the tidal wave.”  
“Not with this! Air rescue! Now my army will be picked up by rescue helicopters and returned to my borders while your forces will be sucked into your kingdom of quicksand.”  
“Funny you should mention sand, because I activate Sandstorm!”  
“What!?”  
“The sandstorm last for three turns and not only turns my muddy kingdom back to sand but blinds your rescue helicopters making them stay in place.”  
“Damn!” I let my guard down.”  
“Now your army is lost in a chaotic storm while my army, accustomed to the harsh storms of the desert, gets a plus two to their rolls.”  
“Not if I can help it! I play Grim Invasion! With the grim now knocking against your border you’ll have to focus on them while my forces retreat back to safety.”  
“You get away for now but I will have your kingdom before this is over.”   
“Well that was intense.” Ruby said as I ended my turn with having my forces retreat back to Vale, “Now it’s my turn, I hope you’re ready Ren!”  
“This is WAY too intense for a board game.” I looked behind me to see Alice standing above me, “So who’s winning?”  
“Not sure…but I launched grim on Yang’s kingdom.”  
“…Yeah I have no clue what you mean.” It’s been about three weeks since Alice and the others showed up and with their help I was able to piece together parts of my past but Gareth seemed intent on adding in things that even with blanks in my memory I didn’t believe…it made me chuckle though. Honestly hanging around them made me feel more complete and everything felt more natural; even when Alice hit me it felt familiar and when I sparred with Gareth I felt like I knew all his movements already, even Lily made me feel at ease when I just sat around reading with her in the library…well…I would read comic books while she would read historical books...it still felt nice to just hang out with all of them.  
“Soren!” I looked behind Alice to see Weiss and Lily approaching, “We have to study for Oobleck’s final.” Weiss said holding up a history book.   
“Isn’t it on the faunus immigration act?” I asked.  
“Yes and I know for a fact that you don’t know anything about it.”  
“I know what it is.” Weiss glared at me as I said that, “Fine, fine. Alice play my hand.”  
“I don’t know how to play.”  
“Fine…Jaune, I’m tagging you in!” I yelled at him making him move over, “Vale is currently retreating back to its border so protect them and keep an eye on Ren. I don’t know what he has planned but he has Atlas.”  
“Got it!” Jaune replied with a smile on his face as I walked away following Weiss to a nearby table for a study session.  
“…You know Vale is going to crash and burn with Janue at the helm right?” Weiss said.  
“Well…I mean- he could- damn it…and I managed to hold off Yang to, that progress is going right down the drain!”  
“Focus! Faunus immigration was first thought of after the founding of the four kingdoms.”  
“Wasn’t the White Fang established as the diplomats of this treaty?”  
“Right. Now one of the laws was to set up a law in which faunus would need papers to travel from one land to the next.”  
“Wasn’t that taken out in the final draft?”  
“No, it was just made so any one traveling to another kingdom would need identification.” Weiss and I sat discussing the facts for the final Oobleck was going to give us.

Alice  
“Jaune stop attacking Yang! She has an array of traps that have destroyed most of your forces.” I said standing behind him; the army Soren had left him with had turned into a small force not even capable of defeating a Nevermore…which Ren was launching at him, man he turned the tables quickly.  
“So Alice, what was Soren like when he had all his memory?” Ruby asked playing a desert scavenge card to raid Yang’s forces.  
“Actually…not very different from how you know him. I heard a few stories from Yang about him and he seems to act exactly the same.” I answered.  
“Even the story between him and Weiss?”  
“Yeah…he’s an idiot so that’s right up his alley.”  
“I kind of wish I was there for that.” Gareth said approaching us, “Stories about Soren and his encounters with females never fail to amuse me.  
“Does he get slapped a lot?” Jaune asked.  
“So far only by Alice and Weiss but they make me laugh with how oblivious he is…and I’ll admit that I’m not the smartest of the group.”  
“And yet Soren seem to be stupider than you on occasion.” I said finishing the sentence with a sigh, “It makes it really weird to talk with him.”  
“At least on matters of the heart.” Yang said playing Giant Nevermore to Ruby’s dismay, “I’ll agree with Gareth that it is funny to watch…hilarious even.”  
“He also gets slapped a lot.” Ruby said adding to the conversation.  
“He’s ignorant but not stupid.” Ren said out of nowhere, “It’s interesting to see…kind of like Jaune.”  
“What about me?” Jaune asked looking up from his hand.  
“Regardless I could do without him being ignorant.” I said.  
“Why? Do you like him?”  
“No, it’s just weird to talk with him.” I replied hastily as Gareth and Yang laughed at me; Soren was right, they are the same.  
“Soren has shown his ignorance 82 times for as long as I’ve known him. Not counting the month break he was here.” Lily said making everyone murmur.  
“That’s a lot.” Ruby whispered behind her cards.  
“He’s the biggest idiot in the multiple worlds.” I said.  
“And yet you hang out with him.” Gareth said making me glare at him.  
“Just like Weiss.” Ruby added.  
“Hey! I am nothing like Weiss!” I retorted.  
“She said the same thing about you the night you two met.” Yang said chuckling. In the one conversation I had with her I was left with a feeling of annoyance; she was a pompous rich girl with an attitude, I will admit that she had some style but her high and mighty personality had me gritting my teeth after talking to her…especially when she talked about Soren like a dear friend…damn it I’m getting pissed off again.  
“Let’s change topics. Why is Soren still sleeping in your room?” Ruby and Yang shrugged at my question making me sigh, “A shrug in not an answer.”  
“Well we never really have a problem with him. He stays pretty neat and clean and is always up and out before we change so he’s been pretty respectful.”  
“That sounds like him…give him time though, one day he’s going to walk in on you as you change clothes or are getting a sponge bath!” I said feeling a dark blush cover my face.  
“That’s…weirdly specific.” Yang said setting down her cards and looking at me with a coy smile, “How about that story Alice?” Damn it, I keep digging a deeper hole…I’ve turned into Gareth.

Soren  
“There, we good Weiss?” I asked closing the text book.  
“You got three of those questions wrong.” She retorted.  
“And? That’s still a B as far as I know.”  
“Do you even care?”  
“About studying? No. I’d rather save my energy for things that really matter.”  
“Like what?”  
“Well…the people I care about. You, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Team JNPR, Team CFVY and so on.”  
“…Hey it’s been a week since those guys showed up…what do you think of them.”  
“They definitely know about me, that can’t be argued and…I feel a sense of familiarity when I talk with them. Hell, just spending time with them gives me a sense of ‘I’ve done this before’ more than anything I’ve done on my own.”  
“…Even so I’ve noticed you seem to avoid them during school time…why is that?”  
“…They see me as a dear friend; they talk to me like we’ve known each other for years and I feel the same but…I have a feeling of…disconnection; it’s different to be told about your past and remembering yourself; when I remember something on my own I feel like I’m actually learning about myself…being told about my past is not only limited to my interactions with them but it feels like I’m being fed a person I don’t know.”  
“So…you don’t feel like you’re learning about yourself?”  
“Honestly…no. I thought once I found them that I would learn more about who I am but…I was obviously wrong…and that’s why my brain keeps telling me this is weird.”  
“…What if you haven’t been asking the right questions?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Have you asked them about the moments you attacked them?” I felt my eyes go wide at this question; I didn’t want to ask them about those memories, “I knew it, you’re afraid.”  
“Of course I’m afraid Weiss, I attacked them. How do you just ask them about a moment like that?”  
“They came this far to find you and are helping you regain your memories…well trying at least. I’m sure you can ask that question.”  
“…I don’t know.”  
“Just think about it okay?”  
“Alright…so what do you think of them?”   
“Gareth is not the smartest tool in the drawer but has some pretty impressive combat capabilities. Lily is also very good with her weapon in combat but also has the brains to back it up with her encyclopedic mind and journal. Very interesting people.” She said stopping her evaluation obviously leaving someone out.  
“What about Alice?” As I asked her hands seemed to clench.  
“She’s…haughty and easily angered. She has simple clothing choice and obviously has a temper that’s out of control; I mean who just hits you out of nowhere like that?”  
“Well not to be a pest but that’s what you do constantly.”  
“Well too bad for you but you ARE being a pest! Her combat skills are also sub-par and rough.”  
“All of our combat skills are like that. I found it pretty amazing how she was able to dodge and retaliate in a quick succession getting of massive combos with her speed…kind of like you fight.”  
“Don’t compare me to that novice!” Weiss stuck her nose up offended and I chuckled making her blush, “Let’s change topics.”  
“Alright, now should we continue studying?”  
“No, I think we’ll be fine.”  
“Really Miss Perfect score? You’re good enough?”  
“Quiet you. Now come on, let’s go see your kingdom fall to ruin under Jaune.”  
“He couldn’t have done that bad.” We stood up and moved back to the game to see Jaune with his head down in defeat and Yang with her winning smirk.  
“Vale has fallen to my power!” Yang said triumphantly.  
“I think I over estimated Jaune’s tactical ability.”  
“You think?” Weiss and Alice said at the same time making them glare at each other as Yang and Gareth chuckle. 

I sat in my seat in the sparring class looking at the people who were around me; a lot of people were showing up from other schools so it was becoming more crowded with each passing day with students from Minstral and Vacuo showing up; strangely enough students from Atlas were far and few between with all of them looking like they just stepped out of boot camp…and from what I heard about Atlas they might very well have.   
“Quiet down students.” Goodwitch said grabbing everyone’s attention, “As the semester rounds to an end I would like to see how each team has progressed through the year so for today we will be conducting team matches in the courtyard. Please move outside and to the statue at the front of the building.” As everyone stood up I looked around to see everyone moving into their teams…everyone but me, Alice, Gareth and Lily…I’m guessing they’re like me; not really a part of any group and freelancing while still a part of their school, “Mister Thain.” I jumped noticing Goodwitch standing next to me, “It’s unfortunate to see you won’t be able to participate in group combat; it would be unfair to let you side with a group in this exercise and make it four against five.”  
“I understand…it’s just kind of how it works…I least I won’t be alone.” I said pointing to the other three across the room.  
“Then maybe you will participate after all.”  
“What?” Leaving me with that statement Goodwitch walked away leaving me confused…was she suggesting…no, she’s not that cryptic…then again I’ve been proven wrong about her before…whatever. Moving out to the field I sat down on the grass near the front and watched as the first two teams squared off; it was team GRNT (Garnet) against team SAGE (Sage) as they both implemented team attacks and group tactics that I had never seen before except in RWBY’s training every few days. I looked over to see Alice, Gareth and Lily sitting around me out of nowhere; guess I was too wrapped up in the match to notice them, I looked to see each of them were carrying their own unique weapon which they each had strapped at different areas. Alice’s weapon was strapped to her side making it easy for her to grab it while Gareth had his strapped to his back in the open, I’m guessing, to intimidate others; Lily’s was on the back of her waist like mine and reminded me of Ruby’s scythe but seemed to be a collapsible staff with a scythe end unlike Ruby’s which was a snipper scythe combo. They all had my philosophy of keeping a separate firearm with Alice holding a mini-gun, Gareth with a shotgun and Lily with a medium range rifle; all I could think in that moment was ‘of course they chose those weapons’ but I’m not sure why…my past really eats away at me like a leech somedays, “So I know it’s been a few weeks but you guys never told me about your weapons.” I said making light conversation.  
“Neither did you for that matter.” Gareth said making me chuckle nervously.  
“Fair enough.” I replied pulling out Twin Soul, “This is my blade Twin Soul. It’s a dual bladed longsword that separates into dual blades and then can reattach at the hilts to turn it into a blade staff for defense purposes.” I explained showing its capabilities as I explained them.  
“So it moves from power as one blade to speed as dual blades and defense as a staff blade.” Alice said breaking down my weapon, “Pretty clever, I’m guessing you use the dual blade mode most?”  
“Guilty as charged.” I said chuckling, “I also have dual pistols; one uses stun rounds while the other uses blast rounds, both are fitted with a dust chamber just in case but I haven’t gotten the chance to use them yet. What about you guys?” Alice moved first pulling out her sword.  
“This is my katana Enchanter. It’s just a simple katana but I can use dust to coat the edge and add an element effect to it and make it more dangerous; I use a thin dust edge so I effectively and efficiently ration out dust…it isn’t cheap with the recent string of robberies after all. I keep a mini-gun as a side arm and use blunt bullets but I don’t keep it with a dust chamber.”  
“So it uses a thin line of dust?” I asked looking at the edge to see a small clear sharp end along the blade with enough room for a line of dust to run along the blade, “Doesn’t seem like it would have much impact if it’s that thin.”  
“Well with a little influence it’s quiet effective.”  
“Influence?” What did she mean by that?  
“…I’m sure you’ll figure out later. For now, that’s my weaponry.”  
“My turn.” Gareth said grabbing our attention, “This is my great axe Earth Breaker. It may look like an ordinary battle axe but the axe end can detach from its base and swing from a chain. I keep a shotgun for my side arm and use blast round like you but I don’t use dust at all, not really worth it in my opinion.”  
“The axe swings on a chain? Isn’t that hard to control?” I asked.  
“No…why would it be?” He replied shocking me.  
“He swings that thing with surprising accuracy that shocked us as well. It was amazing to see.” Alice said with respect in her voice.  
“W-Well I guess it’s my turn.” Lily said quietly as we turned to her, “T-This is my scythe Reaper. The staff base collapses so I can easily conceal it and also changes the scythe into a staff making it easier to move around; I-I also use it to gain some extra air by pole vaulting. T-There’s a rifle on my side that uses piercing rounds.”  
“And dust?” I asked.  
“She uses it raw.” Gareth said shocking me, “Alice and Lily both use dust but Lily has enough control of her aura to manipulate dust.”  
“What do you mean manipulate dust?” I asked.  
“Think about it this way.” Alice began, “If you had the gunpowder could you make a bullet?”  
“No.”  
“Lily can, she can change dust into ammunition rounds and if we have the clip then she can fit the dust to act perfectly as what the clip was meant for; whether it’s ammo or a sword edge.”  
“That’s…very impressive. I’ve read about people who have been able to do that to dust but it takes incredible aura control to use.”  
“Makes sense that Lily can do that then. She’s more the thinker than the fighter…but she can still put up a hell of a fight.” Gareth said making Lily blush at his compliment.  
“From what I hear all of you can.” I said, “Sun told me about some of your exploits in the time you spent at Haven; disposal of a hundred grim, top scores in class and street brawl victories of the hundreds.”  
“Top scores was Lily and street brawls, to our dismay was Gareth picking fights.” Alice explained.  
“You really didn’t need to do that Gareth.” Lily said alluding to an earlier moment.  
“Hey! No one insults my friends and gets away with it! Soren would agree right?” Gareth said motioning to me and…I had to agree…especially with my track record.  
“Yeah…I have to agree.” I said with a chuckle.  
“See! He knows what’s up.”  
“Well I would have done the same thing.”  
“From what Yang said you did.” Alice said.  
“She really loves gossiping doesn’t she?”  
“It’s interesting to talk with her.”  
“I like talking with her.” Lily said, “You never leave without a new piece of information.”  
“Well we heard that you saved a girl named Velvet from a bully when you saw Lily pop up in her place.”  
“My blood just felt restless watching someone I care about being hurt…even if I didn’t know Lily then it still felt wrong to stand by.”  
“W-Well t-thank you Soren…e-even if it wasn’t exactly me I appreciate it.” Lily said.  
“Good to see you don’t change Soren. Even without your memory you’re still the same Soren we know!” Gareth said laughing.  
“We were worried that…you might have been different when you told us you lost your memory but…you act the same.”  
“Why is that?” Alice asked, “Experiences make a person but without the memories aren’t they missing?”  
“Well just because I can’t remember them doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. Those events would still influence who I am. The experience is still there emotionally even if I can’t remember them.”  
“…And you believe that?” Gareth asked and I nodded, “Why?”  
“Well in an effort to remember my past I spent the first few weeks researching anything and everything about memory I could.”  
“I call bull! You couldn’t study normal homework!” Alice said bringing up something from the past I couldn’t remember.  
“Not sure about that but Weiss was willing to help me out.”  
“Weiss…”  
“…Moving on, I found out that most cases of complete memory loss still had the person in the same emotional state. Partial memory loss results in someone reverting back to the point they remembered last while complete loss results in the brain not knowing where to put them.”  
“So either a baby or no change at all.” Alice interjected and I nodded.  
“Yep…just without any memory of the past.”  
“You know that seems too complicated for the brain to handle.” Gareth said scratching his head.  
“Maybe your brain.” Alice mumbled chuckling.  
“The human brain is fascinating. With the capacity for so much knowledge it’s an amazing human organ.” Lily said, “Very fragile though.”  
“Moving on.” Gareth said hijacking the conversation, “I want to know how you still know how to fight without your memories.”  
“Gareth, experience is still there.” Alice said, “He still has muscle memory.”  
“Actually I have foggy memories of battle.” I corrected.  
“Like an aged war veteran in an elderly home.” Gareth said out of nowhere, “Hang on…if you have memories of battle then…” He suddenly grabbed me shaking me violently, “You must have memories of our group battles!”  
“Vague memories.” I said pushing him off, “There are a few tag team fights and then three team battles and a few four team battles near the end.”  
“So you have memories of battle?” Lily asked.  
“That’s the sign of a masochist.” Alice added.  
“M-Maybe we could jog his memories with battle!” Lily suggested.  
“I’ve been sparring with him for weeks and nothing happened.” Gareth said.  
“Well maybe working as a team would work better than attacking him.” Alice said; it couldn’t hurt to try.  
“Let’s give it a shot! Hang on.” Standing up I moved over to where Goodwitch was watching the current match; it was JNPR versus PINK (Pink)…all male group funny enough; the fight was pretty one-sided with JNPR dominating the battle…well Nora at least, “Hey Goodwitch. Would you mind if Alice, Gareth, Lily and I got in as a group on the next match?”  
“Good to see your team is deciding to join.”  
“…You know being cryptic and expectant kind of makes you seem like a jerk.” She shot me a glare as I said that making me cringe slightly, “Got it! I’ll just get my team ready.”  
“Very well.” Slinking away I headed back to my…team?  
“Alright we’re up next.”  
“What team are we up against?” Alice asked.  
“Don’t know, kind of got a glare that said ‘Go away’ so I walked away.”  
“Great job.”   
“Sorry, anyway we’re up next. Let’s show them what team…SAGL…can do.”  
“Is that how you pronounce that?” Gareth asked.  
“I’m…not sure…sure.”  
“It doesn’t sound like anything.” Alice said.  
“Actually it’s an anagram for Southern Amateur Grid League.” Lily informed.  
“Weird…anyway what’s the plan?” Gareth asked and I began to think.  
“Well because we don’t know what who our opponents are we’re going to need to go off their weapons. Lily have you got a basic knowledge of weapon strength and weaknesses?” Lily gave me a nod, “Then when we see them I want you to give me a break down of power, speed or defense builds. From there we’ll at least have an idea of how to approach each member and be able to attack and defend accordingly.” I said explaining, “Alice you have a speed weapon so dodge and move getting in as many hits as you can after each dodge before they can swing at you; do you think you can time it well?”  
“Just call me the dancer with how smooth my movements are.” Alice said with a grin.  
“Alright, Gareth because you have a battle axe I want you to get close up on your enemy and give them a thrashing but don’t be reckless, when you feel tired or your aura is low then switch to your chain axe and take the defensive using your chain to attack from a distance.”  
“Got it covered!” He replied giving me a thumb up.  
“Lily after the break down I want you to stay on defense and counterattack when you get the opening to but don’t risk yourself for a narrow opening, be sure of yourself when you attack.”  
“O-Okay, what about you?”   
“I’ll be using my own weapon skills like the rest of you so don’t worry. Now as for dust and firearms I’m leaving that up to you guys to decide…just make sure when you fire that you either make sure the others aren’t within the blast radius or that they know your about to shoot near them. That plan work with everyone?” They all gave a nod in response and I felt my face instantly turn into a confident smile; this felt natural.  
“That’s the match.” Goodwitch said making us look over at the area where everyone was fighting, “Next up-”  
“Come on guys! We’re up!” I said grabbing my weapon and dashing to the ring with the others behind me.  
“We have team…”  
“SAGL”  
“…SAGL…against team RWBY.” Wait what? I looked to the other side to see the others looking at us in surprise; I guess now I’m fighting against my friends; I’ve fought against Weiss but Ruby, Yang and Blake were still a mystery in how to approach them. I’ve only seen Yang’s fighting style and haven’t gone against it so we should be careful…oh right!  
“Guys don’t make Yang angry.” I whispered to the others.  
“Why?” Alice asked.  
“Trust me, it will end VERY badly…don’t cut her hair at all.”  
“Ooookay?” With that we all got into position as they did the same.  
“Let the match begin!”


	10. Chapter 10 (Familiarity)

I stood there looking at team RWBY and heard Weiss give a 'hmph' as she smiled at me; she must have been waiting for a rematch since the first time we fought, I can't think about that right now though, I have a team with me so I have to be alert and careful.

"Let the match begin." With Goodwitch's declaration all of us shot forward as team RWBY did the same; I blocked Blake's blade and kick as she spun knocking my sword up and hitting me with two blades suddenly to my surprise; so her sheath was a second blade. Switching to blade staff I blocked both her blades ad spun quickly knocking her blade down as one of the blade ends hit her on the head, she rolled into the hit rolling behind me and giving a quick swing on the rise as I blocked one blade and took the other full force; Blake was quicker than Weiss and her movements were better on close range combat…too bad for her I could hold my own in close range to! Switching to dual blade I took the offensive swinging at her quickly as she blocked each blade and noticing and opening I ducked taking a swipe at her feet as she somersaulted backwards; got her! Dashing forward as she landed on her feet I thrust sending her back and reattached my blade as I pulled out my blast pistol and shot a round at her; as the smoke covered her I heard the sound of pistol shots and saw small holed open through the smoke and bullets came at me. Sidestepping to the left I suddenly collided with Lily making us stand back to back; I looked to see she was dealing with Ruby who was firing sniper rounds at her as Lily swung quickly knocking the bullet away with frightening accuracy.

"Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang. Speed, speed, speed, power in that order."

"So no defense?" I asked as Blake rushed at me forcing me to block and push her back.

"They all use their weapons main function to up their defense. Ruby uses her speed to block hits and-"Lily took another swing stopping another bullet just in time, "Weiss dodges, same with Blake while Yang seems to take the hits or overwhelms the enemy not giving them the chance to attack." I looked to see Yang facing Alice while Gareth fought Weiss…bad match up.

"Gareth, Alice, Switch!" Hopefully Gareth's defense should help him survive Yang's punches and Alice's speed should be enough to at least match Weiss, "Lily switch!" Shifting positions I dashed at Ruby who shifted position and stood up extending her scythe and held it behind her ready to swing; rushing forward I watched Ruby's movement and as she swung at me I dove forward going over the scythe and rolled at Ruby swinging on the stand disorienting her and shot her point blank with the stun pistol. Suddenly I heard her rifle fire and watched as she flew backwards a few feet and was then hit by the stun round making her freeze; clever girl, rushing forward I took two swing and then suddenly felt her scythe blade wrap behind me and she swung sending me flying at Alice who back stepped and held her hand out for me. As I passed her I grabbed it and she swung using the momentum to send me at Weiss who spun stabbing into the ground creating and ice dome around her as I stabbed into it and swung shattering it as Alice dashed swinging into Weiss who was sent flying into Ruby.

"Thanks Alice."

"Save the thanks for after; we've got about five seconds before they get up." Right. I looked to see Lily was currently struggling with Blake while Gareth was matching Yang…her eyes turned red.

"Lily."

"Got it." Alice dashed over to Lily as I moved over to Gareth as quickly as I could; as I ran I watched as Yang reeled back and swung.

"Gareth, defense!" I shouted and he immediately held his axe in a defensive matter as she punched it sending him flying backwards into me; we fell onto our backs and as we got up I looked to see Ruby and Weiss had recovered and had positioned themselves in an odd fashion.

"Ice Flower!" Ruby shouted as she pulled out her sniper rifle and Weiss set and ice glyph in front of it; pushing Gareth back down the shot sailed over us and hit Jaune consuming him in a giant ice flower, "Sorry Jaune!" Getting up I dashed at them as they fired more rounds at me; pulling out my blast pistol I shot forward at the middle of the glyph making the bullets collide and explode blinding the entire field. Not good, can't see at all; suddenly a scythe edge tore through the fog at me making me soar backwards into someone; I looked to see it was Yang and quickly shot a stun round stopping her in place.

"Gareth strike where my voice is!" Dashing out of the way I heard the sound of a shotgun barrel and watched as two blast rounds hit Yang and sending her into the deep of the fog, "Nice!" Suddenly I heard a shot and watched as Gareth flew right next to me before disappearing behind the fog; damn it this was not going to work for us and Ruby seems to be using the fog to her advantage…we need to get rid of it…, "Alice, wind!" I heard a shot fire and side jumped as a bullet flew through where I was standing; Ruby has crazy good hearing…no…Blake's her ears! Suddenly I felt a large gust of wind and when I cleared up I looked to see Blake and Ruby in the center while Alice and Lily were on the side opposite of me; Gareth and Yang had been pushed outside of the ring taking them out of the battle…but where was Weiss? Looking around I noticed the ring was lined with Weiss's glyphs and she was behind me; I quickly blocked as she trust pushing me into Ruby and Blake who raised their weapons to strike; damn it I got careless! Suddenly a wave of blue and red flew at them creating a mist; in the confusion I rolled over to Alice and Lily who gave a sigh of relief; I looked to see Alice was holding a katana in each hand to my surprise, "A little hidden functionality?"

"All girls have their secrets Soren, why?"

"First question, how good are you at throwing and catching?"

"Did you take the class on team item sharing in combat?"

"Yeah."

"So did we."

"Then this is going to be hectic. Lily I need you to adapt to these glyphs quickly and use them."

"W-Wait I can't do that! They're Weiss's glyphs."

"Her glyphs affect friend and foe alike."

"A-Alright then."

"Just watch Weiss's movements with them. Alice, stay in dual katana mode and pass one off to me when I give the signal." She nodded and the mist cleared with Ruby giving a slice to cut the mist apart, "Go!" Dashing forward I switched to sword staff and began to spin it as I played a blade dance with Blake making sure to stay focused on each blade; every occasional strike I made she left a double and jumped back before dashing back into me. With my next slice she left a double and jumped back as I spun the staff and thrust with the other blade end knocking her loose and on her back; pulling out my blast pistol I took a shot as she rolled back knocking her into the edge of the ring and against Weiss's glyphs and watched as she stuck there for a moment; so they're platform glyphs, "Lily, up!" I pointed to the glyph and she stuck her staff into it and pole vaulted off the wall into the air.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled and Weiss created more platform glyphs; jumping from one to the next she headed up towards Lily who had reeled back her scythe.

"Alice!" I yelled and Alice built up a dust edge ready to send it at Weiss.

"Ladybug!" I looked over as Blake tossed Ruby a ribbon which coiled around her scythe edge and Ruby swung her scythe in a circle sending Blake flying at Alice stopping her strike on Weiss as she struk Lily sending her crashing to the ground; damn those team attacks are a real problem. As Weiss trust down at Lily who was still getting up I took another shot with my blast pistol at Lily.

"Lily, up!" She looked at me and swung at my bullet sending it up at Weiss who went flying to the side before landing on her feet at which point Lily was now up. I heard the sound of Ruby's rifle and looked to see she was flying towards me at incredible speed; dropping to my back she flew over me and dug her scythe into the ground stopping her before she flew out of the ring, "Alice now!" As she launched an earth wave sending Blake back Alice threw me her second katana and I looked to see a green dust already on the edge; good to see she knew what I was thinking. I moved forward and pushed Ruby's scythe out of the way as I swung hitting Ruby with a wind wave sending her back a few feet out of the ring; wasn't as powerful as Alice's tornados…guess she really does have an influence I don't. I looked over to see Weiss fighting Lily as Lily swung her staff around knocking Weiss in the knees, arms, chest and neck; as she made contact with Weiss's neck a scythe edge came out of the staff and she pulled sending Weiss to the ground. As she went for the final blow Weiss rolled out of the way and set a black glyph where she was and as Lily's scythe hit the spot it seemed stuck there unable to be pulled out. I rushed over to help but Weiss moved quickly and backed up launching a multitude of orbs at Lily hitting her and knocking her out of the ring. Checking my scroll I saw both Gareth and Lily's auras had been almost completely depleted while Alice and I were on the verge of elimination; I looked to see Alice was dodging each of Blake's moves but that was all she could do with how quick Blake was moving…guess I'm going to need to do that again. Dashing past Weiss who was taking a breather I sheathed my blade and pulled out my stun pistol setting it to the dust chamber as I rushed at Blake; I stuck the pistol directly on Blake shocking her and pulled the trigger; as she tried to escape with a double the ice shot I fired covered her foot and my hand as we stood there connected.

"You realize were both stuck." Blake said confused.

"Yeah but our time is done." Tossing the katana back to Alice I pulled out my blast pistol and took a point blank shot at Blake consuming both of us. I felt myself and Blake dragged out of the ring by an invisible force and looked to see I was lying next to Goodwitch out of the ring.

"Honestly that move again?" She said sounding disappointed. I looked to the ring to see Alice and Weiss as the last people in the ring; I looked over to see both of them were at 21%; one more hit would decide the match. Reattaching her katana Alice sheathed it pulling out her mini-gun and firing at Weiss who dashed around the ring avoiding every shot she could while retaliating with her own orbs at which Alice began to circle the ring. Eventually Alice ran out of shots and unsheathed her katana separating it into two and dashing at Weiss who dodged every swing as flawlessly as Alice had done before with Blake; suddenly in a split second I saw a red dust edge on Alice's katana as the chamber on Weiss's rapier changed to fire and as Alice went for another hit Weiss retaliated by thrusting up to meet it and the ring was consumed with smoke. When the smoke cleared both Weiss and Alice were on their backs panting openly; so who won, "That's the match, the outcome is a draw."

"A draw!?" We all said in surprise.

"Yes they both used fire dust and neither ended well."

"So they both played with fire and got burned." Yang said, "Weird."

"Are you two okay?" I asked stretching both my hands out to them at which they both took them and glared at each other as they stood up; they continued to glare before giving each other a smile.

"Not bad Alice." Weiss said.

"You weren't so bad either Weiss." Alice said…I feel scared for some reason.

"Would you like to join me in the locker room to clean up?"

"Yes I would. Would you mind telling me what you use to give your rapier dust capabilities?"

"Only if you tell me what gives your blade the same." They continued to gossip as they walked away from us; I looked around to see everyone had the same look of shock on their faces that I had at what we just saw.

"I…I thought they hated each other?" Ruby said scratching her head.

"Maybe…they…learned to appreciate each other in battle?" Blake said trying to comprehend the situation.

"So they're best friends now?" Yang asked and none of us answered.

"Okay first order of business." I said catching everyone's attention, "Is everyone as scared as I am right now?" Everyone gave a nod.

"I-It's slightly terrifying." Lily said.

"Like two of the same person." Gareth added.

"Two Weiss…I could get behind that." Jaune said in deep thought.

"Yeah double the rejections." Yang said with a chuckle.

"I never thought Weiss could have friends." Ruby said, "Well…of her own choosing." I sighed at the current turn of events and chuckled thinking about it; the battle felt so natural with those three, it felt like everything I told them they would do because it's how it had been before…it felt nice to…and then terrifying with Weiss and Alice agreeing. It's like watching two spiders work together, rare and terrifying because you don't think spiders would work together…I need rest.

After class I grabbed a grim drink from the vending machine and looked to see all the different students conversing in groups; I looked around for anyone I knew but to my surprise none of my friends were around, not even team CFVY or Sun was around…it felt weird being on my own…backing up I headed for the cafeteria through the smallest wave of people. I looked at the groups to see students from different schools introducing themselves but as I watched them talk and laugh…I didn't feel like joining them. Maybe it was the fact that I had holes in my memory that made it odd connecting with others or maybe it was because I felt nervous approaching new people; my encounters with Ruby and the others was always them coming to me but when the coin was flipped…I felt scared.

"Hey Soren."

"Gah!" I jumped slightly as Ruby was standing next to me, "Oh, hey Ruby…sorry I didn't see you there."

"That's okay. You seemed really focused on the groups, something up?"

"Well…it's just; I'm not good with approaching others."

"Really? You seem pretty social."

"Yeah but that's because I know you guys. It's easier to be myself around people I know."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"Well…why can't you be yourself around others? Seems pretty simple."

"What if they don't like me?"

"Hmm…oh well." Ruby said with a shrug.

"Jaune was right. You really aren't the easiest person to talk to."

"Nope. Actions speak louder than words though. I'll see you later Soren." Ruby waved goodbye as I looked at the groups of people…I suppose the worst that could happen is rejection…deep breath Soren.

"Hey, I'm Soren. How have you enjoyed your time in Beacon?" I asked three students.

"It's been enjoyable."

"Not much of a place though."

"Well I can't say much for the classes but we have a good choice of food and the weapon development room is pretty well stocked should your weapons need repair.

"Interesting."

"Pfft, whatever."

"Ignore him. It's nice to meet you Soren. We're from Haven in case you couldn't see by our uniforms."

"Really? I hear they have a great combat program. Is it true they send you after the grim?"

"Well-" Suddenly the taller girl stepped forward placing her finger on my lips suddenly.

"Careful Soren. We have to keep some of our secrets." Stepping back I felt my cheeks suddenly flare up looking at her mischievous smile.

"Right, I guess Beacon has its secrets as well." I replied with a chuckle.

"I'm positive it does."

"Well would you guys mind telling me your names?"

"Well I'm Emerald." The girl in green hair said, "That's Mercury." She pointed to the white haired boy who was currently not paying attention, "That's Neo." She pointed to the girl in black haired twin tails who gave me a bow.

"And I'm Cinder." The girl in long black hair said stepping forward and holding out her hand, "A pleasure to meet you Soren." I grabbed it shaking it slowly; it seemed like she was in complete control of the handshake.

"Nice to meet you all as well." I replied with a smile; these guys seemed pretty nice…well except Mercury but I'm sure he's nicer than he looks…why did I just feel a chill up my spine?

I talked with the Haven gang for a bit and as we talked I noticed they seemed…dodgy on their responses; every question I asked seemed to be answered with another question until Mercury eventually walked away from everybody prompting the others to follow him and wave me goodbye. I tried my luck with a few other students and found most of them to be almost weird representations of their schools. Beacon is known for its focus on how huntsman and huntresses interact with others more than how they fight or follow directions; Atlas students seemed proper and obsessed with following protocol…I see where Weiss gets it from. Haven students were ready for intense combat and some of the groups almost felt hive mindish in how they responded; Shade Academy was the strangest of all though; because of its lack in uniform it felt like the school was full of loose cannons…and groups that seemed like perfect blends of personalities….at least team NDGO (Indigo) and BRNZ (Bronze) seemed pretty in sync. After a while I had introduced myself to a good number of different students and met some pretty interesting people…especially Neon and Flynt…not exactly people I'd expect to be part of Atlas honestly. I guess Ruby was right; actions do speak louder than words. I felt something make my hair stand on end and turned to see a robbed person walking into one of the hallways; speaking of actions.

"I'll see you guys later. I've got to check something out."

"Later Soren." Flynt said tipping his hat to me as Neon waved goodbye rapidly. Turning the corner I noticed the robbed figure was standing in front of a vending machine, approaching them slowly I watched as they put their hand on the machine.

"It's been a while hasn't it Soren?" That voice…isn't that…? They turned around and gave a deep chuckle; it was the guy I met back in the forest with the weird creature- ow! A headache…that hasn't happened in a while, "Still getting headaches I see."

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" I asked rubbing my head.

"I thought I would check up on you. See how your memories are treating you. How have you been?" I thought about what he asked; so far I've made some great friends and developed a pretty sizable reputation.

"It's been good. I've met some great people."

"That's good to hear. Now I have a question for you. How has your memory been?"

"I…honestly haven't thought much about it. A few of my…other friends have tried helping my memory but it doesn't feel…like me." I answered gripping my arm fearfully; every time I thought about…'those' memories I felt my body tremble in fear, I don't know if I want those memories back…they scare me more than any other.

"Well maybe it isn't you." He said making me look up in surprise, "If you don't feel like those are your memories then I would be glad to take them away." Suddenly the creature from earlier phased in and gave me an icy stare, "All you have to do is take my hand and open your mind." He reached out his hand to me and…I contemplated it; ever since I've been here I've spent time with Ruby and the others trying to remember my past…and it's hurt every time…when Alice and the others showed up my mind threatened to tear itself apart from just seeing Alice.

"W-What would you take?" I asked feeling my hands tremble.

"Anything you can't remember I will take. I won't take any memories of your times with anyone in this world and all your combat experience will remain untouched. As far as you'll remember everything will come natural; no gaps, no feelings of deja-vu…it will all feel natural, just take my hand and it will all disappear.

"…What about Alice, Gareth and Lily?"

"…I will deal with them personally…you will never see them again…your head will never hurt again. The memories that have plagued you shall disappear." It…ends?...This unsure feeling will be gone…I want that. I reached out my hand but as I reached I felt my hand stopped; what was this feeling of hesitation? (Promise me that whenever you have a problem, physical or emotional, you'll tell us.) This feeling…( T-Then how about this; if one of us ever forgets the others than the rest of us will be there to help bring them back.) My heart hurts…( Then let's make a promise. Whenever we can, we fight together!) These three…they hurt my heart…but not in the way I expected; it hurts to think I could forget them…even now…I have a feeling that if I forget them now I'll regret it forever…these promises…this bond…I can't let it go. I may not understand it but…I want to…I want these memories back; with how important they feel I can't lose them now. Retracting my hand I took a step back and he gave me a look of confusion.

"I…I don't want to forget. I want to remember them…and everything."

"Everything?" He said with a sigh, "I've told you before, your past is riddled with pain, yours…and those you hurt." Suddenly I felt my mind begin to open up in pain; falling to my knees I gripped my head as visions began to take shape in my mind. I'm…in my home…that's…my sister, I have a sister? There's my mother and father…what's in my hand? 'BANG!' NO! 'BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG!' NONONONONONONONONONO! They're…dead…my sister…my father…they're dead…by my hands…

"I…I…no."

"That's right. You did…that is your past! You've hurt…you've killed and you've been a burden and nuisance to others. But you've been given a chance to start over…if you don't take it then you'll revert back to who you were…do you want what you saw back…but in the hundreds?

"NO! No…no…I-I don't want to hurt those I care about." He outstretched his hand again to me…I have to forget…I don't want to become…THAT. (Don't trust him!) Huh? What's that voice? (Remember your dream!) My dream? ("A-Actually I think the memories were still there…b-but they were just out of reach. That's why we acted the same but didn't remember.") Acting the same…but not remember…this killer me in my head…isn't me. (Don't forget your past…it's a part of you…the good and the bad.) So I was THAT! (Yes…and no, if you were like that would you have the friends you have now, would Alice, Gareth and Lily have come so far to find you?) I DON'T KNOW! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!? (Listen to yourself…what does your heart say you should do?)…I…I should…talk to my friends…and trust them more than him! Backing up I pushed my hand out and watched as the robbed man staggered backwards being hit by my aura, "I can't give up yet. They came this far for me…maybe I don't like what you've shown me but I can't just give up on all of it like that! They came this far to find me…and they're helping me recover me…I won't let them down!"

"You still want your memories back!? After everything I've shown you!"

"You've only shown me the bad points of my past! If I have great friends like Alice, Gareth and Lily that means they can't all be bad. I have this feeling there's more to it than that though…I want it back, the feeling I've felt in my dreams…if I have such a feeling of exhilaration in my dreams with them then I will dig up every memory buried in my head…because I feel…no, even if I don't know them I KNOW they're important to me!"

"Then I guess it's time for plan B." Suddenly he pulled out a giant blade and pointed it at me, "It's been interesting knowing you Soren but this is where it ends!" He swung and I backstepped pulling out my scroll and dialing up my locker.

Alice

"So how do you and Soren know each other?" Weiss asked putting her hair into its side ponytail while I tied my hair into its normal ponytail.

"He's my best friend. We know each other incredibly well and I've been there for him for as long as he's been there for me." I replied thinking about our adventures.

"Is that why you guys are here to bring back his memory?"

"Well it's partly that, partly a promise we all made and…it's just not the same without him. The four of us have been through so much that whenever one of us aren't there it feels like something is missing…we just didn't realize it until he was gone."

"What do you mean?"

"…A month without him…it made me feel slightly hollow…and Gareth and Lily felt the same."

"So what's so special about him?"

"Well I'm sure you've seen it already but…he's the type of guy who's actions speak louder than words. His passion and drive to protect others is something that can't be matched…and sometimes almost gets him killed…but that's why he has us. The four of us are only together because of Soren's dedication and trusting nature; he's risked his life to save us on multiple occasions and because of that we've come this far as a group and I'm not willing to see the adventure end with one of our deaths…especially not Soren's."

"Well I'll have you know I've been keeping an eye on him in your absence." Weiss said proudly, "On a side note…is he normally so dense?"

"ALL. THE. TIME." I responded with a sigh. Suddenly one of the lockers shot out of the locker room shocking both me and Weiss, "Who's locker was that?"

"That's…Soren's locker…but why would he need his weapon?"

"He must be in trouble…if it's grim he'll be fine." (Owen.) Owen? OH NO, "I have find him now!" Grabbing my weapons from my locker I dashed off and grabbed my scroll dialing up Gareth and Lily.

"Alice? What's up?" Gareth asked.

"Owen found Soren!"

"W-What!? Where are they!?" Lily asked in worry and slight panick.

"Get outside now and follow the flying locker! We'll find Soren where it lands!"

"Got it!"

"W-We'll make sure to grab our weapons first."

"Meet me there then!" Hanging up I rushed outside into the courtyard and saw Soren's locker land in the middle of the courtyard shocking everyone as it opened up revealing Soren's weapon; I came to a stop and looked around to see Lily and Gareth approach about a minute later.

"Where's Soren?" Gareth asked looking around.

"I don't know his locker just crashed here."

"D-Does that mean Owen g-got hi-"

"No! That's impossible!" I retorted before she could finish and she nodded.

"What's happening?"

"Did somebody pocket dial their locker?"

"This is weird." Student's murmured as we stood there. Out of the corner of my ear I heard a slight rustle and turned to the source to see Soren dash out of the woods towards us.

"Soren!" He rushed over and grabbed his weaponry from the locker switching to dual blades and standing ready.

"Be careful everyone! He's coming." We all got our weapons ready as Owen strolled out of the hedges holding a giant blade…wait…is that…Demise's blade from Skyward Sword!? He must have replaced the Master Sword when we broke it.

"So you did show up…I'm honestly getting sick of dealing with you all!"

"Then stop doing what you're doing!" I yelled back at him, "Seriously, you know we show up every time you try to do something sinister we show up, especially when you try to take Soren away!"

"I suppose I should have expected that you would show up…oh wait…I DID!" Suddenly four tears opened up behind him; out of those tears appeared Sukia, Damien, Denys, Penny and Jarek all armed with their respective weapons, "I think it's time you had a rematch with your old friends."

"Damn it. Everyone ready?" I looked over and Gareth and Lily gave a nod while Soren had a wide eyed look on his face, "Soren what's wrong?"

"The guy on the end…is that me?"

"No, he's not. He just looks like you."

"But…he…OW!" Soren dropped to his knees in pain gripping his head.

"Soren stay with us!"

"Soren…" We all moved over to him as he cried in pain; he collapsed to the ground and began shivering, "I-Is he alright!?"

"Damn it! His memories are really stretching him to his limit."

"So what's going to happen?" Gareth asked.

"A-At this rate he'll pass out!" Lily said panicking as Soren's actions slowed down.

"Soren stay with us!" I yelled shaking him, "Soren…Soren…SOREN!" He had his eyes closed and was slowly breathing, "Damn it! We need to protect Soren till he wakes up!" Standing up I looked to see the four of them approaching us; it's three versus four and one hit on Soren and we've failed.

"You might as well move now. You can't stop us." Jarek said cockily.

"We will get through." Denys said.

"Whether you like it or not." Penny finished.

"This is your defeat!" Damien yelled licking his lips.

"You've come far." Sukia started reeling back her scythe, "But this is where it ends." With a quick swing she caught all of us pushing us out of the way; damn it she's stronger than I expected.

"N…No!" I screamed getting up and felt my body pushed back as Denys swung his giant blade into my stomach almost sending me flying back as Lily and Gareth caught me, "Lily, dust!" Lily popped open a dust vial and swung it sprinkling the contents out; she concentrated on it and thrust her hand forward propelling dust needles at them. With a quick twirl Sukia destroyed the needles as Damien and Jarek stood over Soren's unconscious body; get away from him!

"Finally, it ends here!" NO! As Jarek swung down an ice barrier covered Soren's body surprising all of us.

"Sorry but I don't think I can allow you to kill him." I turned my head to see Weiss with her sword stabbed into the ground, "Now step away from him!"

"And who's going to make me ice queen?" Suddenly Jarek was hit with a scythe sending them flying backwards and Damien was struck with a fist doing the same; looking back at Sukia and the twins I saw Blake strike both of them into the others.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked helping us up.

"Yeah…just a little beat up."

"I-Is Soren okay?" Lily asked.

"Weiss put him in an ice barrier, he might be a little cold but other than that he'll be fine…besides…" She turned her head to the five others, "I think we have something bigger to deal with!" Standing up I held my katana out separating it into two blades as Lily extended her scythe and Gareth swung his chain axe.

"Hmm…let's talk about this logically for a minute." Owen began confusing me, "All we want is Soren. Hand him over along with his little friends and you four will leave here unscathed…otherwise it will end VERY unpleasantly for you." An aura pulse shot off him making all of us fall to our knees; damn…he's still so much stronger.

"I think you mean you eight." I looked over to see Pyrrha walking up with the rest of her team behind her.

"Twelve." Behind them was team CFVY with Coco leading, "Although at this point I think it will be you five who will have an unpleasant end." I looked back at Owen confidently standing up.

"You all are willing to throw your lives away for this boy? WHY!? WHY THIS BOY!?"

"BECAUSE HE'S OUR FRIEND!" I shouted stepping forward with the others behind me, "I can't speak for the others but we fight because he means just that much to us! We've come this far with him and we've been saved because of him. We've returned the favor as well but that doesn't mean we're going to abandon him…he means enough to us that we want to protect him with everything we have."

"And you think you can do that? You think you can do that?" Another wave of his aura hit all of us knocking us backwards, "Fine then, I'll show you how powerless you are to protect what you care about myself!"


	11. Chapter 10 (Purpose)

"…" …, "W…u…" …, "Wa…p." …, "Wake up." …Where…where am I?...who am I? Standing up I looked to see I was in complete darkness; in front of me was a boy dressed in black with scruffy brown hair and a very serious look.

"…?" I…I can't talk?

"Don't worry. You can't talk but I'll explain everything in time."

"…"

"You're probably a blank slate right now. Can't remember anything?" I nodded at him and he chuckled lightly, "Hehehe, twice in one lifetime. Well this time you can't remember a thing so it might be worse…jeez, I don't think she'd appreciate being forgotten again…she might even be sad to see you in an even worse condition than before." He talked to himself making me wonder what was happening; I was stuck in a blank space with a guy who talked to himself weirdly freaking me out; to wake up in a strange room and not have any clue what's happening or who I am and with this guy…but something told me…he was trustworthy, "Yes! That's it!" I jumped at his comment and excited smile, "You have a feeling that you can trust me. That feeling shows you're still there!" Still there? (A-Actually I think the memories were still there…b-but they were just out of reach. That's why we acted the same but didn't remember.) Ow, "Memories just out of reach. Buried behind the fog of your conscious mind; although I suppose that's why we're here." …What do you mean? "Hmm? You picked it up quick…then again I suppose you were good at thinking on your feet." Where are we? "In your subconscious." My subconscious…why are we here? "Well the details are a little buried but we'll get to that later." So…who are you…and who am I for that matter. "Well I'm your subconscious mind. As for you…we'll just call you…conscious." So…I'm the conscious mind? "Not specifically…you're both but…right now you aren't conscious." That sound complicated. "It is a little…but I'm sure it'll all make sense within a few minutes…I hope." You hope? "You may not know this and even if you had all your memories it would still be a bit of a stretcher but you're pretty dense normally so this might take a bit of time." So…where do we start? "I say…at the beginning."

Alice

Taking a swing I was blocked by Owen's blade and felt him grab my neck; as he held me I felt a jolt of powerful electricity run through me making me shake and panic, he then threw me back as I skid into the ground. Gareth and Lily charged forward and Gareth went for the powerful swing which Owen blocked as Lily moved behind him getting ready to slice him; suddenly he disappeared and reappeared behind Lily swinging and knocking her into a tree making her crumble underneath it. Gareth swung with all his momentum but Owen just grabbed the axe by its blade and pulled Gareth up sending him flying into the air; when he fell down Owen kicked him and Gareth dug into the ground groaning in pain.

"Is that all you've got? I thought you could put up a better challenge than that! I'm almost ashamed that I let myself be bested by you four!" I tried to stand finding my body shaky and uncooperative; aura may not leave a mark but the painful feeling is still there…and right now I feel like my insides are bruised to hell, "I mean seriously, after everything I've done to think that you are the ones to mess up my plans." He reached down and pulled me up by my ponytail, "That ends today though." I looked behind me to see the others beaten and defeated behind me; team RWBY, JNPR and CFVY were taken out almost instantly by his aura blast and couldn't stand up to his power…then again we were barely able to stay on our feet as well.

"Hng!...If we've been such a nuisance then why have you let us stop you three times now?" I asked as he pulled me to eye level with him; I heard a deep chuckling and looked over to see Gareth slowly getting up.

"Seems you underestimated us." Gareth said giving s smile through his pained shaking.

"Hmhmhm." As Gareth moved forward and swung his axe chain it wrapped around Owen's other arm and he pulled Gareth to him and punched him in the face sending him into the ground, "While I admit that I did underestimate your resolve to protect each other I didn't see you as too much of a threat in the larger scale of things." I saw a small blur pass behind Owen and a scythe blade began to swing at Owen before he pulled me forward as a shield with me taking the full blow.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

"Alice! I'm so sorry!" Lily said in shock as Owen threw me at her knocking us both to the floor in pain.

"But you seem insistent on hindering my goals!" I looked up to see him gather a ball of pure energy in his free hand, "So I'm forced to take a much more…DIRECT action."

?

So…what was that? "That was the first adventure Soren went on." Soren…is that who's mind this is? "Yep, welcome to the mind of Soren." And…the girl Alice… "What about her? Did you think she was cute?" Soren protected her when she lost her mind…why? "Why?" Up to that point she hadn't been the best traveling companion to him…so why did he save her from her own demise? "It does seem strange doesn't it? Most people wouldn't take a risk like that." He almost died from the concussion and with the burns on his hands it's amazing he was able to survive. "I guess in a world with magic anything is possible." Still…it's strange to think he just gave his life for her after what she did. "Well sometimes the quality of a person speak louder than their actions." Are you saying he could see into her soul? "No, very few people can do that. Only meisters from my memory." Meisters? "Nevermind. There was something stronger at work here though…you felt it didn't you?" …He…just had a feeling? "Yep." And he let that dictate his actions!? "You seem surprised." It's just…abnormal, who just let's their instinct control their lives? "I thought you had no memory?" I don't but…something about it seems…weird. "…heh." What? "Nothing…but is it really so odd?" What? Of course…why wouldn't it be? "Well we just watched the same adventure. Considering who we just watched does it seem so strange?" 'sigh' I guess not. "Now a question. What would you say Alice's motivation was?" That's an easy one; she wanted to escape her weak self in her world and find new color or…flavor to this new world. With Soren's help she was able to realize that any world is full of color, the only thing stopping her was her own doubt. "Good job…now what about Soren?" In the beginning he wanted to find something different from what he was stuck in and also felt compelled to stay strong for those around him but it ended up being his downfall…and destroyed his mind. I'm not sure who that other personality was but it was definitely freighting. With Alice's help he was able to find someone he could trust with his weaknesses with and shoulder his burdens with. "You pay attention…that's good. We'd be stuck here for longer if you didn't." So what now? "Hmm? Oh we're just getting started here. Ready for the next one?"

Gareth

Falling to the ground I felt my body try to shut down as I lied there in pain; not going to happen though, I stood up with what strength I had and changed to defense as I rushed at him slowly.

"Pathetic." He shot a ball of energy at me that I sliced and suddenly it exploded in my face knocking me backwards; energy explodes when cut…got it...ow. I looked to see Alice and Lily trying to double team him but he was able to summon a strange knight who swung creating a wave of power that struck Alice and Lily knocking them to the ground, "You still fight but you can't win. Seems like a pointless endeavor." Pointless? Standing up I chuckled and gave him a confident grin.

"Obviously you don't know what fighting for something is." I said making him give me a glare.

"T-That's right!" Lily said getting up and panting, "We won't stop because we have something to fight for!" I heard Alice give a grunt and get up slowly.

"Not until our last breath." They both met up where I was and Lily raised her staff.

"Restoration!" A gentle light covered us and I felt my strength rejuvenate to its full power.

"Time for round two!" I yelled confidently as we all rushed forward at him. He swung at me and as I blocked it Alice swung behind him and went for a back swing before he blocked it; from out of nowhere Lily came to the other side and curved her scythe around his sword and spun disarming him. Catching it I threw it at him and as he moved to catch it switched to chain axe and swung at his side as Alice struck his back and Lily swung at his feet knocking him over; catching the sword before it fell to the ground I went to plunge it into his chest but he gripped it by the blade and shook as I put all my strength into the blade.

"Nice try." He went for another aura blast but I switched to pure defense and took the force continuing to plunge.

"Can't stop me that easily!" I yelled switching to pure attack and plunging through into his chest making the blade stick out of his chest. He swung his legs making me fall to the ground and swung his arm sending a blast of wind at me sending me backwards.

"You think I don't have a reason to fight? I didn't come this far for nothing!" He yelled pulling the sword out of his chest, "And I won't let someone like HIM stop me!" He shouted pointing to Soren confusing the three of us, "And you are no exception!"

"What do you mean? How is Soren a threat to your plans?" I asked looking back at Soren who hadn't moved an inch…he better get up soon.

?

"And that's how the second adventure came to a close." Geez, Gareth was…obnoxious…but his energy is something to behold…if it wasn't for Alice, Soren would have been six feet under before the adventure even began. "You think?" I know. "Hm…" Also Gareth seemed like ten wild cards in one. "Really? Explain." He seems like somebody who lets their emotions control them. "I guess if you look at the big picture it would seem like that…" He was driven to the brink twice; Alice and Soren only… well Alice only had it happen once. "That's right, Soren lost it again." Jarek…what a strange name. "It means strong and glory." I have a question. "Really?" What's Owen's obsession with these three? "Good question…now time for my questions." That's not an answer. "What was Gareth's motivation?" Gareth wanted to be a hero so when he was brought to this world he saw his chance to be a hero; but when he saw how hard Soren and Alice was trying to protect each other and him he felt that they were more hero than he was…and that didn't make him feel very good…then he realized that being a hero is more than just saving those in trouble and receiving admiration…it's knowing that their lives are better because of what you did. Being a hero is less about admiration and more about making others' lives better regardless of how they see you…he wanted to protect both those in trouble as well as those who mean something to him…because he realized that it's not just his story but everyone's story, he let go of his selfish goals for others and learned to see others as more than just background characters. "More complicated than he looks huh?" A little. "What about Alice?" She wanted to protect Soren because he was the one who stood by her through it all and she wanted to repay the favor. She had a strong bond to Soren enough to trust his judgment on Gareth. "Is that it?" She fought so she wouldn't lose something important to her it's as simple as that; it's why she didn't want him to go solo. "Alright…now what about Soren?" Well…um…he…as far as I can tell he wanted to save Gareth because he empathized with him and wanted to save him from the fate he and Alice almost experienced, that's why he didn't attack the first time Gareth went berserk…other than that I can't really see any other reason. "So he helped out of empathy?" …No…it wasn't just empathy…I can't explain it but if Soren just felt empathetically he wouldn't have put himself in so much danger…it seems irrational. "Maybe your right…or maybe it's just how he acts." I don't get that feeling though…something tells me there's more to it than just that. "Good…hold onto that feeling…now let's keep going! "Another one?" Don't worry, we're almost done…I'd like to finish this up as quickly as possible. "Why?" With what's happening I'd rather not draw this out…let's keep going."

Lily

"Diaga!" I shot a light spell directly at Owen and he swung his dark blade canceling out my spell.

"Dark!" Alice yelled enveloping her katanas in dark magic and filling her dust cylinders with a purple dust; dashing forward she met Owen's dark blade in a clash and I took the opportunity to sprinkle some light dust out and used it to form a light edge on my scythe. I vaulted into the air and pulled my scythe back; alright Lily it's now or never; as I approached him from the air I felt time begin to slow down to a halt and saw my opening, I swung at him with all my speed and strength and saw him recoil at my hit before spinning as I blocked sending Alice and I skidding back a few feet.

"To think a traitorous girl like you has caused me so much trouble." He opened a void and reached into it pulling out a strange sword and raising it to the sky; it seemed to gather energy before being enveloped in a powerful force; with a swing he sent a wave of power at me and as it hit me I felt my body begin to tear apart as a powerful storm enveloped me. Suddenly I felt my body grabbed and pulled out of the storm and looked to see Gareth had grabbed me; looking back at the storm it suddenly exploded as Gareth and I backed out of the radius of the blast, "I hold more weapons and power than any of you can handle; even if you beat me in speed-" He pulled out a red liquid in a bottle and drank it all down, "I can keep myself alive for longer than any of you." I stood up casting a small recovery spell and looked around to see the others had been blown back farther by the force of our battle…including Soren, "I'm willing to let you three go, all I ask is that you hand over Soren." Soren?

"Why do you want Soren?" I asked.

"He knows more information then I'd like him to know. When he lost his memory I was hoping that I could just extract the knowledge from his mind but even without his past he was still so…RESILIANT. Now it seems I have to take out the root of the problem…I figured I would have had to take you three on to get to him but you've seen my power, you've seen what I'm capable of…do you still wish to fight?" When he finished I moved over to Soren as the others did the same; when we each got to Soren we stood in front of him with our weapons out.

"We will fight." I retorted confidently.

"You think you can convince us to give up our friends?" Gareth said with a grin.

"We've come this far to find Soren. Now that all four of us are back together I refuse to let you separate the four of us again!" Alice yelled.

"To have such resolve…what drives you all?"

?

"That's where the story ends." … "Nothing to say?" …No. "Any reason why?" How is Soren so strong? "Huh?" As far as I can tell he's had the most resolve of them all and taken a beating for all of them…but he has no drive. "…" Even worse he's easily shaken. He was willing to give up after seeing the graveyard, he was ready to give up after they had killed a general, he gave up because he was afraid of himself not one but twice! So how the hell has he been able to summon the strength he used to fight!? "…How did he come back from those moments then?" What? "If he was willing to give up then what brought him back?" …His friends? "Those he fought to protect always repaid the favor. Whether it was in battle or in spirit they helped him recover." That's not the issue though, he fought with such determination and spirit that he was able to take down almost any enemy he came across…and while he spoke passionately there was a lack of…purpose. "Purpose?" Alice fights to live; to be able to walk in her world again, side by side with her friends and those she cares about; she wants to be able to share her taste of the world with others. Gareth fights in order to make the lives of those he cares about better; he wants to see their faces light up and their lives become better no matter what, he fights so he can continue to make those he cares about have a better life and all of them feel like life would be worse without him so he fights to make their lives better. Lily fights to uphold the ideals of her brother and protect those who embody it; she wants to protect those she cares about as well as protect those who uphold the same ideals she does, that's why she fights so hard to protect the other three…but Soren doesn't have that. First adventure he fought because he was given a duty and felt responsible to complete it; the second adventure he fought to protect Gareth from the same fate he almost suffered and on the third adventure he seemed dragged along without any goal or purpose in mind…so how can he fight so hard without any purpose. "…You really think he didn't have a purpose?" As far as I could tell he talked a big game but that was it! "Well maybe you're right…or maybe you just couldn't tell what it was…and here I thought you could pay attention." What do you mean? "Soren said exactly what he fought for near the end…now what did he say?" He said… I refuse to sit back if I can protect the future. "So he fights for the future?" …No…he doesn't fight for the future…at least not just that. "Well then let's ask the man himself." What!? "Over there." He pointed behind me and I looked to see the exact same person standing there…was that the boy we were in right now? "Yep…although he hasn't been very responsive during this whole thing." Wait…he's been standing here the whole time!? But I didn't see him when I looked around! "He's not very tangible right now." He's been blinking in and out of view the whole time? "Yeah he's on the verge of fading away." What!? Why!? "His resolve has been wavering since he lost his memory and with it his very self. He was able to keep hold for a while but when Jarek got separated from him it did some serious damage…now with his mind split and his very soul in disarray it's not looking good for him." What do you mean? He seemed to be more in control when he was separated from Jarek. How can he be weaker? "Jarek was a part of him; even if he was another personality it was still a part of who Soren was. Half of a soul is hard to work off of but he's been able to until now." But why? "Uncertainty." What? "Since he's lost his memory he's been uncertain of himself, of his memories, of the people he knows and those he knew…it's done hell to his mind and soul." So Soren can't stay together…because he doesn't know if he wants to? "Exactly." Then if we return his memory then shouldn't he go back to normal? "It's not that simple." Why not? "It isn't just a matter of memory or identity crisis; his soul has been wavering because he hasn't been so sure of his goal or himself for a while now." What do you mean? "After the third adventure things were going very well for all of them. Alice was on the verge of conquering her disease and taking her first step outside, she was then going to explore the world as an archeologist and see even more of what it has to offer; Gareth was about to turn eighteen and leave the orphanage, he planned to join the police force to continue helping others and Lily had planned to become a teacher in order to inspire others and share her vision with the world…but Soren…he didn't know what to do. His friends were making their futures come closer by the day and Soren knew that while they had something to continue to strive for he didn't know what to do; he had protected those he cared about and now had nothing he wanted to do in his world; he could have become a cop like Gareth but something about it didn't feel right for him. For him it felt like there was something unfinished…then she came to him." She…you're talking about Mary. "Right."

Soren

"So an archeologist huh? I think it would fit you." I said tossing the controller to Gareth.

"Glad you think so." Alice replied with a proud smile, "Any reason why?"

"Well you always look at things in a way that others don't and I'm guessing the relics you find would have a quality that you would appreciate more than anyone else."

"Just don't steal an artifact or I'm going to have to arrest you." Gareth said chuckling as he tossed the controller to Alice who gave him a chuckle in return.

"Please…with your brain I could outthink you and you'd never find me."

"Hey if I take Lily's class I can learn anything!" Gareth said confidently making Lily giggle.

"Gareth I'm going to teach children; you might be a bit too old for my class." Lily replied.

"Age, yes. Mentally, very iffy." I said making a teeter-totter with my hand.

"A MAD reference?" Gareth said chuckling.

"They can't all be winners." I replied shrugging, "Anyway are you all packed Gareth?"

"Yep, in a week I'll be ready to head out on my own!"

"Says the man crashing at Soren's place." Alice added making me laugh.

"Speaking of heading out, when are you going to be charged to leave the hospital Alice?"

"Ten days from now. I'm REALLY excited!" Alice said getting more energetic, "I can't wait…but you guys have to be there when I leave."

"Of course." Lily replied.

"Like we'd even try to miss it." Gareth added.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world." I finished making her give me a big smile; seeing her this happy made me really glad, it's good to see our lives becoming better…at least theirs were.

"I'll see you guys later. I have to go submit a form for the police academy before they close." Gareth said standing up, "I want to get started as soon as I can."

"You've got a week, don't be so eager." Lily said.

"I'm not leaving anything to chance!" With that Gareth bolted out of the room and I chuckled at his eagerness.

"W-Well I have to start submitting applications for college if I want to get started on earning my teaching degree.

"In what?" Alice asked and Lily thought for a minute.

"I-I was thinking English."

"The only thing an English degree is good for." I said with a chuckle.

"Well then it's perfect. See you at home Soren." Lily walked out of the room waving to us before closing the door leaving Alice and I alone.

"…So what about you?" Alice asked surprising me, "Everyone else knows what they want to do with their lives…what about you?"

"I…I don't know."

"You know my offer is still on the table. If you want…you can travel with me."

"…Alice I don't know if I can even become an archeologist…and I don't know if it's what I want to do." I answered looking down sadly.

"Well then…what's the one thing that's made you feel like it's something you want to do?" The one thing I want to do?

"…The only thing I've enjoyed immensely was…the journeys we went on." I answered in deep thought, "They've been the best thing ever since our first adventure. It's the one thing I've felt right doing."

"Really? Why?"

"I…I can't put my finger on it. All I know is that something about those adventure spoke to me more than anything I've ever done before…but I guess I can't do that anymore." I said standing up immediately I felt Alice grab my hand suddenly.

"T-Then come with me! If you like the adventure then come with me on mine…a-after all an adventure is more fun when you're with someone…r-right?" Her face was a deep red as she looked at me with an intense look.

"…Maybe." I replied unsure…while it sounded right it didn't feel…right.

"Think about it…okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." I left the room and began walking down the hall towards the stairs; everyone else knew what they wanted to do and yet I was still in limbo with my life…eventually they wouldn't need me to protect their future and…hng! I clutched my chest feeling a strange emptiness for a moment; what was that?

"Soren…I need your help." That voice...

"Mary?" I asked looking up; suddenly a white light enveloped me and when it faded I was back in the white room from the end of my last adventure, "It's been a few weeks. I didn't expect you to contact us again." I said with a chuckle and she gave a sad look; maybe I should leave the levity and jokes to Gareth from now on, "Any reason you called just me?"

"…I didn't want to call you again…but I need your help…I can't rely on anyone else." She replied looking away ashamed; I put my hand on her shoulder and she looked up at me as I smiled.

"Please don't worry too much. I'd be glad to help you." She wiped away her tears and giggled; I guess I was good at cheering others up, "So where are you sending me? Usually you just send me there instead of giving me a moment to ask." I said siting down in a nearby chair Mary conjured up.

"I'm sending you directly to Owen's home world." I stood up in shock as the chair fell over behind me.

"Owen's home world!?" She nodded and I thought for a moment, "I'm guessing you're not sending me in to attack are you?" She nodded again, "So why send just me?"

"I need you to collect knowledge. As much as I know about his plans I don't know how he plans to accomplish this."

"If I remember correctly he's trying to bring Nina back…I have a question about that actually."

"What is it?"

"Owen obviously has the ability to open up doorways to other dimensions. If that's true then why doesn't he just open a portal to another dimension where Nina hadn't been killed yet?"

"Travelers can open portals to other dimensions but they can't open dimensions where they already existed. While dimension portals are pathways they cannot take you to your own past."

"…Huh?"

"Let's say you go to a dimension and spend a day there then it would be impossible for you to go to a dimension where it was only twenty four hours earlier."

"So our powers restrict us. We can't fix our mistakes by jumping to the past and changing events."

"Exactly."

"So he's trying to find a way around that problem…so there are no other copies of Nina?"

"Not his Nina. Doubles are never chosen, I only choose one copy of a person and that's it."

"Alright then let's get started." I said, "Oh just one more question. Why are you sending me? Wouldn't it be better to send someone who knows the area I'm going into…like Lily."

"I don't want to send her back there…I have a feeling that it would not be good to send her there."

"I get what you mean…it's not that she would turn back…it's more that it's full of painful memories than anything else…alright then I'm ready."

"…I want you to know you don't have to do this…I'd understand if you didn't want to do this."

"No, I want to help…I've seen what he's done to worlds and I'd prefer to stop it anyway I can…even if it's just getting intel." I responded confidently…huh the chest pain went away.

"Then do your best." Mary rose her hand and another white light enveloped me; in that moment I felt that feeling of excitement that accompanied every start of an adventure…but also this strange feeling of emptiness along with it…hng!

Looking around I saw I was in a large office with bookcases and file cabinets lining the walls and papers covered all over the desktop; picking one up I was shocked to see my name as well as Alice, Gareth and Lily's name. It was piece of a report on some of our adventures; the other papers were either part of that report, another report of an adventure or a file on one of us. Setting the papers aside I looked in the desk drawers to see different mystical items from rings to amulets and even a few bracelets. One of the drawers caught my attention as it only had one item in it; a picture of five people all grouped together…well, two humans, a succubus, a shapeshifter using four arms in a comedic way, and two people who stood with the same expression…the Gemini twins. So this is Owen and Nina with their friends before all of this…which means that this is Owen's office…but where is he? I opened the far door and looked out into a metallic hallway; every step I took echoed down the hall in the silence of the area; the entire area felt empty and abandoned…but that couldn't be. As I came to the end of the hallway I looked around the corner to see a group of people walking away from me to the other end; at least the place wasn't deserted. I followed behind them slowly and as they turned another corner I heard chattering and multiple voices from their direction; it was a mess hall filled with all different kinds of kids spanning heights weights and ages it was amazing to see. He really did recruit a lot of travelers…I didn't expect so much diversity though; if he has this many travelers then why didn't use all of them on us…wait…everyone here has fallen for his lies and given into their weakness…maybe these guys can't fight. I looked closely at them to see every travelers eyes were glazed over and almost lucid; looks like Lily was right, they aren't in control of their own bodies…at least not all of them; some of them still had focus in their eyes meaning they still had their minds to themselves. It still doesn't explain why Owen wants so many travelers though; he's obviously not using them for a war so what use could he have for this many people? Moving on I headed down the hall quietly and looked to make sure no one was within my path; eventually I found a room labeled 'Record Room' and entered it; while it had files and books it didn't match the amount of info that was crammed into Owen's room; he must have kept the best knowledge to himself just in case. The only thing unique in here was the video logs next to the giant T.V. which showed every world in which Owen had visited and taken a traveler from; every world he visited was twisted from what I remember of them and seemed to be worse because of his influence. It wasn't just game worlds either; movies, cartoons, books and more seemed to have been touched by his influence and suffered the price for it…while some seemed completely destroyed. Video after video made me feel incredibly sad as well as frustrated at the actions of Owen; he's destroyed worlds just to gain travelers but what could he possibly need with all these people?! Eventually I came to the bottom of the stack and saw a tape with the label almost worn away and the letters unrecognizable; popping it into the player there was a small static start and then a girl was sitting under a dead tree.

"Huh? Where did you find that?" She asked looking at the camera.

"Flonne gave it to me. She said I could borrow it for a little bit so I thought I would have a little fun." The camera holder said, "Now why don't you introduce yourself?" She giggled in response.

"Alright then. I'm Nina Reist from Earth and I enjoy spending time with Owen, Sukia, Shifty and the twins Gemi and Nini." Nina? Reaching out her hands she grabbed the camera and pointed it at the boy who was holding it earlier, "Now it's your turn." He chuckled scratching the back of his head, "Come on…if you do I'll give you a kiss."

"Fine…names Owen Richards. I enjoy adventure, protecting others and spending time with Nina Reist for the rest of my life." Nina laughed at his proclamation and he looked away embarrassed.

"A little bold there Owen?"

"What? You don't think-"

"No, I know. Now come over here and sit down with me for a bit. Tomorrow we have to head to Celestia."

"Alright." As Owen approached her the video cut off; that must have been Nina's final moments…Owen must have watched this over and over again after her death…it doesn't explain what he's trying to do though…there must be something in his room I can find. Leaving the record hall I looked for the rooms and eventually came across doorways lined down a hallway; at the end of it was a door locked by a key pad, this must be Owen's room. I looked at the key pad to see a four letter code…

'NINA' The door gave a click opening up and I entered to see a plain looking room and a journal sitting on the bed; opening it up to the first page I looked to see an entry filled out.

'It's been a week since I started doing research on how to travel to the past and I haven't been able to find a way. I've learned that travelers seem to have their own rules they play by; while they can travel from dimension to dimension they cannot travel into the past of a world they visited earlier. Which means I cannot save Nina by going into the past but I shall not give up until I find a way to bring back Nina or at least save her from my mistakes.' Flipping through the journal I found an interesting entry, 'Travelers are unable to travel to the past but that's only due to their limited ability; if I was able to gather enough travelers together than I could open a portal to the past, now I just needed as many travelers as I could get together.' Is that true? I flipped to the next entry quickly, 'It didn't work. I gathered together a hundred travelers from as many worlds as I could and I didn't have the power to open a portal to the past. Instead something even more amazing happened, the world was completely destroyed. While I find this miraculous I still need to find out how to travel to the past.' …The world was destroyed? How is that possible? Can travelers really possess the power to destroy worlds…or was the multiple openings in the same place create a black hole that swallowed the world…I don't know. I flipped ahead to the next entry, 'I've done it. I now know how to save Nina. Travelers are each given a small portion of power by a higher being in order to be able to exist in another world; they are given the power to traverse plains for a moment and jump to another world. If I can harness the powers of every traveler then I will be able to exist on the next plain of existence and become a god. When I am a god I will be able to turn back time to the beginning and save Nina…finally my goal is within reach.' He aims to become a god!? Just so he can turn back time and save Nina…but he must know that would set everything and everyone back…including Alice, Gareth, Lily and I…but more than that…something feels wrong; I quickly flipped to the next entry, '…I've already been branded a traveler…even if I were to become a god I wouldn't be able to save her…so now I must take drastic measures…I will set everything to zero, I will gather every traveler I can, harness their power for my own and destroy every single reality that exists. Every timeline will be eradicated until only darkness remains…and everything shall reset as I release the energy to create the big bang…I will start over to bring her back!" No…he's going to turn everything to nothing and restart…that's insane.

"It seems we have a rat in our walls." I turned around to see Owen standing there; I felt a wave of power hit me sending me to my knees and looked up to see Owen pointing a blade at me, "I knew we would meet again…but it seems you've learned a bit too much for your own good."

"You're really going to destroy everything? That's insane!" I shouted as he kicked me in the face knocking me to the ground.

"You have no idea what I have suffered and what I have endured just to have it all swiped away from me in one blast! I will not stop here because of your sense of what is right and wrong…besides when I'm done you won't remember any of this…then again it might not be you." Quickly rolling I bolted out the door and down the hall following the signs to the locker room…hopefully there would be weapons there for me to use. Skidding into it I saw someone holding two steel long swords and quickly snatched them from him heading for the exit. I ducked and weaved through people trying to grab me or hit me and eventually came to a pair of large double doors; opening them I was surprised to see a large room with a portal at the end and Jarek was standing next to it. When he saw me he chuckled and pulled out a great sword.

"Looks like he was right. Had you showed up a moment later we wouldn't have even known you were here…too bad for you I guess."

"You're the last person I'm scared of Jarek." I retorted brandishing my weapons.

"You know I don't understand your motivation."

"What?"

"Well it seems like your friends are safe so why are you even fighting?"

"I…well…hng!" I clutched my chest in pain; damn it not now!

"See…can't seem to find a reason can you? Still going to fight?"

"Of course! I won't let you destroy everything!" I shouted rushing at him and sending us tumbling into the portal.

"Hmph! That sense of righteousness will only get you so far."

I pushed Jarek backwards into the grass which he slid into staying on his feet; I took a look around seeing we were near a crumbling structure in an open field and behind me were about…7 people and another on top of a giant cliff. Suddenly I felt something collide with my head and stumbled back feeling my mind go a little fuzzy as blood rushed down from my skull.

"Don't underestimate me." Jarek said with a dark chuckle.

"I don't…but I know I can beat you!" I replied charging forward.

"We'll see about that!" He stood and waited for me to approach obviously ready to counter; as I came close I slid to a stop directly in front of him, taking a swing he blocked it and I staggered backwards as he took the opportunity to counter attack. (Defense!) Pulling my other blade up I blocked the incoming attack and fell backwards from the force of his attack, rolling backwards I got back on my feet and jumped forward getting directly in his face, (Speed!) making quick swings I tried to catch him on his undefended sides but with his great sword he was able to block the brunt of my strikes. As I took every opening I could I felt my head begin to hurt and my vision became fuzzy for a moment making me stop; suddenly I felt another collision to my skull and fell to the ground dropping my swords, "Let's see you do anything without your head!" I rolled to the side as he plunged his sword into the ground; grabbing my closest blade I ignored the migraine currently making my vision darken and reeled back, (Power!) with a quick swing I sliced up Jarek's arm and felt a spray of blood and heard a loud grunt of pain as I collapsed to the ground feeling my mind try to tear itself apart with every heartbeat, "NGH!...Hmph, fine…you can die by their hands then." He pointed to his right and I looked to see strange black creatures begin to circle us, they looked to be about the size of bears, "Have fun." I watched as Jarek stepped back through the portal and it closed leaving me in the middle of a circle of bears. I looked out into the distance and saw the people from earlier start to run to help but the bears began to close in a bit quicker; they weren't going to make it in time, if I timed it right then the power and speed enhancements should still be active for another minute…but with the migraine I might be off by a few seconds. Grabbing my blades and ignoring the pulsing pain I stood in the middle reeling back both blades and holding my position; they closed in…closer…closer…now! Using every last ounce of strength I spun with all my might separating every creatures head from their body; as they seemed to disappear I fell to the ground feeling my strength completely depleted and my head throbbing with no end in sight.

"Are you okay?" I looked up as my vision turned from clear to fuzzy every few seconds catching only a few details; in front of me was someone with red hair and in strange patchy armor and next to her stood six others. Two with blonde hair, two with black hair and one with orange hair and the last one had white hair; they all had very unique clothing but I couldn't see their faces…or at least couldn't pick up anything in the few milliseconds between clarity and blurriness.

"I…think so…just a small concussion." I replied standing up woozily; I heard a relieved sigh and suddenly felt my legs give out as my vision faded to black and my consciousness faded.

?

So that's how this all started. "It's been pretty hectic for him so far and it's not looking any better." So he's fading without a purpose? "It's not that he doesn't have a purpose it's that he can't see it yet and that's the issue." While the spirit to fight is there the soul reason is cloudy. "Exactly." So how do we get him to realize it? "Good question…do you know what the reason is?" W-What? "Do you know what he fights for? Why he fights to protect these worlds?" Well…no. "And that's the problem." Why is me not knowing what the reason is the problem? "Because you are essentially Soren. While you are the conscious part of his mind it means you share the gaps in his memory as well as his doubts, ignorance and unsureness." So how am I supposed to figure it out? "I actually have a plan for that…but first I would like to apologize for what I'm about to do." What? Suddenly my vision cut out and a light appeared in the distance. As I approached it I smacked into glass and felt around me to find out I was in a glass box; what was happening? I looked out to the light to see…Link sitting there…beaten and bruised.

"I…want to protect Hyrule." After he said that suddenly a robbed man plunged a blade into his back and Link fell limp to the floor; NOOOOOO! I slammed against the glass trying to break it and suddenly another spotlight appeared to my left and in it stood Mario looking equally battered and bruised.

"I…want to protect Princess Peach…and my brother." Suddenly he was engulfed in flames by a man in a robe; STOP! I threw my whole weight against the glass trying to break it but it didn't budge; another light appeared to my right and I looked in panic to see Kent sitting there with a sad look on his face.

"I…wanted to protect the world my friends lived in…for them." He then began to sink into a dark whole and I slammed against the glass in panic as he disappeared before my eyes; Link was a corpse…Mario was ashes…and Kent had nothing left behind…they all had a reason to fight…to live…and yet they were all taken out before they could even see it happen…DAMN IT! Another light flashed and three different people stood there; a Gerudo, a Koopa, and a Sage.

"I want our tribe to continue to live in this world."

"I want everyone to live in peace in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"I want this world to be free of Chaos." The next moment they were brutally murdered in front of my eyes and I felt my entire body flail as it tried to destroy the glass in front of me; they all have a reason to live…they don't deserve to have their lives snuffed out yet! Suddenly another light shown down directly in front of my box and all five of them of them stood there except for Kent; as they stood there a large robbed man pulled back a reaper scythe; they we're going to die again…they can't die yet! I looked behind me to see Kent standing there.

"Are you going to let them die?" As he asked that…I felt something inside begin to surface…a fire I couldn't put out…one I didn't want to put out…one that I would NEVER put out!

"NO!" With all of my strength and will I punched the glass and as the glass shattered the room was covered in light and everything faded away…looks like I found it.

Soren

I opened my eyes to see Alice and the others passed out around me; suddenly I was picked up by my collar and pulled into the air by Owen who chuckled as my friends tried to get up, they were completely wiped out.

"Looks like your drive wasn't enough." Owen said coldly as he gripped my neck.

"…You're wrong." I said shocking Owen and the others, "YOU'RE DEAD WRONG!" I kicked him in the stomach with all my strength making him drop me and I backed up pulling out my weapon and switching to dual blade mode, "Sorry guys. I was a bit unsure of myself for a while…but now I'm ready!" I dashed forward as Owen began to summon something, "Silent edge!" I swung hitting Owen with a wave that enveloped him and canceled his summon; getting up close I took a few quick slashes before he punched me sending me backwards as I dug my heels into the ground to keep me in place. He rushed forward swinging at me as I switched to blade staff and blocked each hit and spun disarming him and trusting in going through his chest; he quickly backed up pulling the blade out of him and panting from the fresh wound I left, "Jarek you asked why I fight…well I know now." I looked directly at Jarek, "I fight because everyone has a purpose and to think that they never get to accomplish them because of people like you and Owen just doesn't feel right to me. So you want know why I fight? I fight to protect those with a dream, a goal, a purpose to live and I refuse to let you guys stop them from realizing it! I will fight to my last breath to protect everybody's purpose to live!" When I finished Jarek had a scared look on his face; as I stood there I felt somebody grab my shoulder and looked to see Alice, Gareth and Lily standing behind me.

"Very well then." Owen said making everyone turn their attention to him, "This is not the end for either of us. If you insist to stop me then I shall do everything in my power to get rid of you…although I'm guessing you are going to come after me…enjoy your peace for now Soren…for it will not last forever."

"Maybe not now…but I will not let you destroy the peace." I retorted confidently. With that Owen opened a portal and stumbled through it as the others followed behind amazed at what happened. After the portal closed I watched as the others rolled onto their feet ready to fight and were amazed to see Owen and his group gone.

"What just happened?" Jaune asked confused.

"Geez, that Bravely Default hourglass is annoying." Alice said with a sigh.

"Yeah…it lets us kept them out of trouble though right?" I said and they all nodded before giving gasps.

"Wait…is that you Soren…like…actually you?" Gareth asked and I chuckled.

"Yep…sorry I've been kind of a pain this past few weeks by the way…memory is a tricky area when it comes to trust." Suddenly Alice pulled me into a hug as the others joined in.

"I'm just glad you're back." Alice said tightening the hug as I put my hand on her head.

"I'm glad to be back." As we separated I looked around to see everyone with confused looks, "Right, I have a bit of explaining to do…for everyone."

"Oh yeah I forgot." Suddenly Alice smacked me on the head, "That's for going to Owen's home world without us!"

"Ow…I didn't expect to be attacked. It was supposed to just be recon; I didn't expect to be lost in another world."

"Jeez, you're always so reckless. I'm never leaving your side again." Alice said in a worried tone…I expected an angry tone.

"While your recklessness is a lot of fun I have to admit a week of you missing is a bit much for us." Gareth said punching me in the shoulder, "Alice wouldn't shut up about finding you."

"Shut it Gareth!" Alice said making me chuckle and I felt Lily pull at my jacket.

"I'm glad your back Soren. You had us all worried…even Gareth…even though he won't admit it." Lily said giggling.

"Well it's good to see all of you are okay." I replied as we all stood there. I felt someone tap me and looked to see Weiss behind me.

"Soren?"

"Yeah Weiss? Something wrong?" I asked and she gave me a look of disbelief.

"Are you an idiot!?"

"Yes." Alice replied.

"What in the world happened. One minute your passed out on the ground and he blows us back and the next second we get up and your back up and those other guys are gone. I want an explanation!"

"You didn't want one from Blake before." I said and she pulled at my ear.

"That was Blake, you're a different case. Now talk!" She yanked suddenly making my ear turn slightly red.

"Okay okay okay!" With that she let go of my ear and I rubbed it as Alice giggled.

"I like her." Alice said.

"Yeah you would like someone just like you." I said and she glared at me.

"Do you want both your ears to be red? Keep talking."

"I'll shut up now."

"Good choice." …Hehehe.


	12. Chapter 12 (Relaxation)

I sat down in the cafeteria enjoying my lunch as everyone else sat around me; Weiss was enjoying her meal while Yang caught food Nora threw and Blake looked over her notebook, Alice was busy talking with Lily about something while Gareth poked at his food creating weird shapes and flinging the occasional mash pile at Nora who sent them back at Yang who ate them.

"Whatcha doing?" Yang asked Blake looking over; Blake hastily closed her journal.

"Just reviewing notes from last semester." Blake replied with a cool head as Yang caught the food thrown at her. It's been about three weeks since I had recovered my memory and pushed Owen back to his home world; Alice and the others figured we would be called back after my memories returned but Mary hadn't contacted us so we were stuck here until something happened so we stayed at Vale…it's been pretty fun actually.

"Lame…" Suddenly a shake knocked food over and I looked to see Ruby had set a giant binder on the table surprising everyone. She cleared her throat dramatically to catch our attention…as if the slammed binder hadn't done that already.

"Sisters, friends, Weiss."

"Hey!"

"Fourscore and seven minutes ago I had a dream." Ruby began as Alice and Weiss rolled their eyes.

"This ought to be good." Yang said catching another grape.

"A dream that the four of us would come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had…EVER!"

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked and I looked on the spine to see Weiss's name markered on it in cursive.

"I am not a crook." Ruby replied holding up two piece signs.

"Who told her about Regan?" Alice asked and Lily looked away ashamed.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"I'm talking about kicking of this semester with a bang!" Ruby replied confidently.

"I always kick my semesters of with a YANG…eh…guys? Am I right?" Suddenly an apple hit her head and I heard a resounding 'Boo' from Nora across the lunch room.

"Look guys it's been a good two weeks since the last semester and between more exchange students showing up and the tournament at the end of the year our second semester is going to be great…but classes start back up tomorrow. So that's why I've scheduled a series wonderful events for us today!"

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." Weiss replied and Alice put her hand on Weiss's shoulder.

"Trust that instinct Weiss…be scared." Yang suddenly threw an apple at Nora and I heard a male student's voice in anger.

"I don't know…I think I might sit this one out." Blake said.

"Sit out or not I think however we spend our last day we should do it as a team."

"I got it!" What in the-

"I for one think that-" Before Weiss could finish her sentence she was nailed in the face with a custard pie from out of nowhere as she stood up. We all looked over to see team JNPR sitting with Nora pointing at Ren…this was not going to go well.

Third-Person

Sun and Neptune walked outside the mess hall as Sun recounted his fight with Blake at the docks about a month back.

"Heh, man that's harsh." Neptune said with a light chuckle.

"So then we were fighting side by side and she was super-fast and I threw a banana at a guy which sounds gross but it was awesome!" Sun said almost too fast to catch any of it.

"Nice!"

"Right? And the best part is she's a faunus…but that's a secret! Okay?"

"Got it."

"And not a 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back' secret. I'm talking SECRET secret."

"Whoa chill out man, I got it. I GOT it."

"You better. I just don't want to screw this up you know. The people here are the coolest..no offense to you guys." As they talked Jaune was thrown directly at the window sticking against it and sliding down.

"None taken."

"Okay they're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them so be cool okay. You're gonna be cool right?"

"Dude." Neptune posed at him showing him how cool he could be and it was working.

"Good point." As they entered the mess hall students began running out of it as fast as they could; at the far end stood a pile of tables with Nora laughing at the top of them proclaiming herself queen as Pyrrha, Ren, Jaune, Gareth and Lily stood as her loyal subjects. Near the entrance Ruby let out a battle cry as Weiss, Blake, Yang, Soren and Alice stood behind her in comradery. Nora jumped down from her throne and began hurling melons at the group as Gareth, Jaune and Pyrrha did the same while Lily and Ren picked up plates and began to throw them as discs. Yang and Blake dashed forward with Yang picking up two turkeys while Blake picked up two bread sticks; they repelled every projectile smashing melons and sending plates to the left and right of them. Yang threw her turkeys hitting Jaune and knocking him down as Blake jumped forward and went for the thrust on Pyrrha who back flipped grabbing a bread stick and meeting her in a flurry of swings and blocks. Dashing forward Soren grabbed a bread stick and moved to assist Pyrrha as Gareth jumped grabbing a line of sausages and a watermelon and wrapping the line around the watermelon and swinging it at Soren who was sent flying back. Soren landed on a table and jumped up heading directly for Gareth and as he launched another watermelon at Soren who spun dodging it and landed directly in front of Gareth with a clear opening to his stomach and sending him flying into the vending machine. Ruby and Alice moved in to assist Blake as Weiss moved towards Soren grabbing a swordfish and a bottle of ketchup as Alice grabbed a bottle of mustard and approached Pyrrha swiping the bottle and squeezing it at Pyrrha who moved back to avoid it as Blake backed up and Ruby hit her with a lunch tray knocking her into the tower making it jostle slightly. Lily picked up a few of the cans and threw them at Ruby and Alice spraying them with soda and sending them back as every throw was almost eerily accurate. Ren grabbed two leeks and ran at Soren and Weiss as she sprayed the ketchup along the ground making Ren slip and crash into the tables; Soren moved forward meeting Jaune and Gareth who dashed at them. Soren swung trying to catch Gareth as Jaune picked up a melon and launched it at Soren; he moved to the left and Weiss lunged forward with the sword fish catching the melon on the nose and swinging it back at Jaune as Gareth punched her sending her back; Nora jumped forward grabbing a steel pole and pierced it into the melon that hit Jaune. As Weiss skid onto her feet Soren moved to assist her as Nora jumped forward and swung at both of them sending them into the far pillar; grabbing them before they dropped Ruby held Weiss dramatically as Soren groaned on the ground and Alice rubbed his back sympathetically. Yang jumped forward and grabbed another two turkeys as Ren got back on his feet and grabbed his two leeks and traded blows with Yang until she got an opening and sent Ren flying and punched him into a pile of tables as Nora dashed up and caught Yang off guard sending her flying out through the ceiling. As Blake dodged each of Lily's cans she picked up a line of sausages and Alice moved forward throwing breadsticks at Gareth as Blake swung at Nora and Lily knocking all of them down. Pyrrha put her hand on the ground making each can rise into the air and she sent them flying at Blake and Alice sending them flying into the far wall and crashing to the ground with Weiss and Soren. With a confident look Ruby launched herself forward making everything flying at her get kicked up in the wind and follow behind her; like a bullet she passed all of them and skid stopping near the back wall. The others got kicked up in the wind and flew against the back wall being hit by everything that Ruby caught in her wind; every piece of food and plate hit them coating them until they all looked like a paint splatter against the back wall; they all fell to the ground in defeat as Ruby stood triumphantly.

"I love these guys." Sun said with a big smile as Neptune was covered in all manner of food with a look of anger on his face.

Soren

Standing up I rubbed the sore spot on my back as Glynda burst through the door and began reforming the mess hall back to its original state.

"CHILDREN…do not PLAY with your food." She said angrily and Nora burped as Yang fell onto the table and we all laughed openly; I looked around to see everyone was covered in some kind of food; I looked at myself to see the same had happened to me but so far the worst of them was Alice, Gareth, Lily, Team JNPR and Blake.

"Jeez, I think a shower is in order." Weiss said looking at the ketchup stains in her hair.

"Agreed." Alice said whipping the stains of her hands, "Also laundry."

"I think I'll pass." Gareth said dusting his hands off as though that would help.

"Gareth, I'm not exaggerating when I say you are COVERED, head to toe, in food." I said putting my hand on his shoulder and looking to see my hand was now covered and left a mark on his shoulder.

"So?" He responded.

"You're taking a shower…and laundry."

"What's next deodorant?"

Popping open the top I took a big swig gulping it down.

"Ahhh…you know I never got the whole milk thing after a shower but I think I understand it now." I said finishing my bottle of milk as I left the shower in the locker room.

"Actually it's a bottle of milk after a bath but it's about the same thing." Ren said still drinking his milk slowly. Sitting in front of my locker I grabbed my spare clothes and picked them up; before I could remove my towel though Gareth grabbed my hand with an excited look on his face.

"Soren do you not see the opportunity that has presented itself to us?" Gareth said dramatically at which I sighed.

"Gareth the last time you talked like that we were banned from the arcade and Dave & Busters."

"Nora had that happen a few weeks back." Ren said also sighing.

"I remember that, she destroyed the whack-a-mole game right?" Ren nodded sighing again.

"Focus Soren…you to Ren. Do you not see what's around us?" I took a look around unsure of what he was talking about.

"Nothing?"

"Exactly! The girls haven't gotten out of the shower yet!"

"I instantly don't like where this is going." Ren said.

"Ditto." I added.

"Come on guys. Are we not men?" Jaune asked obviously onboard with Gareth's plan.

"Men? Yes. Idiots…well if you ask Alice yes but I refuse to die for whatever you've cooked up."

"All men have peeked on girls in the shower since the beginning of time! We must uphold that legacy!" Gareth said dramatically.

"Gareth, I want you to take two minutes and think about the line-up of girls that are there right now." I said seriously.

"Lily, Alice, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora. All prime candidates."

"…Alright…now think about how many of those girls would KILL us if we were caught." As I asked that six of those eight girls popped into my mind all with an angry look on their faces…as they glared at my grave…ugh.

"…You have a point…but think about the reward for such danger…the skin you could see." ..., "I see by your tent that you agree."

"I still don't want to DIE!" I retorted I shouted back, "Besides it's a shower room. There is nowhere you could get a look at them without getting caught." Gareth snickered in reply.

"We're in a school…meaning I'm not the first to think about this…which means the hole exists."

"The hole?" He chuckled and moved over near the entrance to the girls shower room and Jaune moved over…damn it. Getting dressed in a red shirt and black shorts I moved over to Gareth and Jaune and watched as they removed a wood plank and moved inside…this is not good. I looked next to me to see Ren sitting there enjoying his milk in peace…that could be me…knowing Gareth this might be the smarter option. Deciding my life was more important than spying on girls I sat back down next to Ren and grabbed another bottle of milk; as I drank Ren handed me a piece of cloth.

"You might want to put that on if you don't want to be in the same boat as Jaune and Gareth." Ren said tying his cloth around his eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked and suddenly heard a few female screams as the girls ran out of the shower covering their…unmentionable pieces…Yang and Nora were missing though…yep they're dead. Alice and Weiss had deep blushes on their faces and angry looks as they glared at me and crouched to the ground covering as much as they could and-and-and-and…sorry where was I?

"DON'T LOOK!" Alice and Weiss shouted at me in unison and I quickly tied the blindfold on not wanting to be hit…or look at that for much longer…wouldn't be able to blame a bloody nose on injury this time.

"Can I ask what happened?" I asked unable to see anything.

"NO!" They said again in unison.

"There's a loose board here!" Blake said and the shuffling of feet were heard before a small tumble.

"Crap." That was Gareth's voice.

"He-Hey ladies…can we talk about this?" And that was Jaune…it was nice knowing them.

After the unfortunate torture of Gareth and Jaune I followed Team RWBY back to our dorm as the others followed behind; since I had gotten my memory back Alice and the others had decided to stay in the room with me since I couldn't sleep outside the student dorms but could have them over in our dorm.

"Next time you try that I'm cutting off the tool you thought with!" Alice yelled at Gareth who looked beat up and bruised.

"I don't think you can cut off my brain." Gareth said chuckling.

"Wrong tool." Alice replied coldly and he stopped chuckling realizing what she meant making Lily and I laugh.

"Honestly who still does that?" Yang said unfazed by the previous situation.

"Perverts." Blake replied coldly and Weiss nodded her head.

"How did you get caught?" I asked and he chuckled embarrassed.

"I sneezed."

"You know you have a dust allergy." Lily said surprised at his forgetfulness.

"Only in high concentration."

"You were behind a shower in a wall full of pipes that people don't visit unless something is wrong…you probably should have expected a lot of dust." I explained.

"Wasn't thinking at the time?" He replied with more of a question.

"Obviously!" Alice yelled at him sitting down on the bed next to Weiss who both glared at Gareth.

"You might want to go somewhere else for a while Gareth." I said feeling the weird tension in the air.

"Why?"

"Because the longer you stay here the more likely one of the girls in here are going to kill you." We looked over to see everyone giving him a glare except Yang who was laughing.

"Good idea…but where should I go?" I shrugged in response and Lily moved forward excitedly.

"Come with me to Forever Falls! I want to check out how the sap from the trees affects the Rapier Wasps."

"Any risks?"

"Depending on how things end up you might be stung."

"I'm in!" With that declaration the headed down the hall leaving us to hang out in the room; I laid back on my sleeping back and gave a long content sigh of relief enjoying the peace and quiet in the room, I could even hear the birds chirping outside the window.

"Hey Soren?" I looked up at where the voice was coming from to see Ruby looking down at me from her bunk, "I know you told us all about how you got here but I was wondering what your home world was like." I looked over to see Weiss, Blake and Yang were all looking over waiting for my answer while Alice rolled her eyes and nodded her head to me.

"We've already told them most of the situation." Alice said and I nodded back at her.

"Alright well it's not too different from here. The only differences are there are no grim, no dust, and instead of kingdoms we have countries that all hate each other. There's also no faunus but we make up for it by hatting people with different skin color instead."

"So there's prejudice in your world to?" Blake asked and I thought for a minute.

"I've noticed that prejudice exist in every world. It's something that we can't avoid."

"Yeah…Gerudos, Goombas and humans all had that problem." Alice said agreeing with me.

"So how were you sent here?" Yang asked.

"A tear in the fabric between dimensions…you can think of it like a portal." I explained.

"So if you guys are from another dimension does that mean there are versions of you guys in this world?" Ruby asked.

"Actually I think that some of the people here are direct counter parts to us."

"Really?" Alice asked surprised and I nodded.

"For the month I was here I had flashes of people who reminded me of you and the others. Weiss reminded me of you Alice, Yang reminded me of Gareth and Velvet reminded me of Lily. I also felt a sense of similarity with Blake."

"I don't mind that too much." Alice said smiling at Weiss who raised her head proudly.

"Flash back to three weeks earlier." I said snidely making Ruby chuckle as Alice shot me a glare and I laughed.

"Anyway, it's the last day before the next semester and we have the rest of the day to do anything we want!" Ruby said standing up on her bed; it was followed by a moment of silence with the creaking and swaying of Ruby's bed as Weiss and Alice moved out from under the rickety bed.

"I've been meaning to ask." Alice began facing Weiss, "How do you sleep under that?" She said pointing to the bed being held up by ropes.

"It's…not easy." Weiss replied unsure of how to respond. I looked over to see Yang had passed out and was now snoring loudly as Blake read her book in the bed under hers, I'm guessing they weren't moving anytime soon.

"I guess a nap is in order for the rest of the day." I said laying back down and yawning as Alice pinched my nose suddenly.

"Not if I can help it." She said letting go and I rubbed it.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because I haven't seen all of Vale yet. The best I got was the day we showed up and the two days showing Blake around. Since then we've been glued to your side so now you're going to repay me by showing me around Vale."

"Okay but I can't assure you that I'll be able to see much. They're still setting up for the Vytal festival."

"In that case I'll come along to." Weiss said joining the conversation, "I'd like to see how it's coming along."

"You really love the Vytal festival don't you?" I asked, "Every time I head for Vale you want to come along and you spend the whole time looking at every detail they add to the city for the festival…and then start fixing things…and then the commission asks you to stop."

"How rude! I just have a passion for doing things the right way is all." Weiss said trying to justify her constructive vandalism.

"You bought doilies last time and started putting them over Vytal decorations." Her face turned slightly red at this comment and she pouted.

"Quiet you!" She replied and I chuckled.

"Come on let's go." Alice said grabbing my hand and dragging me as Weiss followed behind.

Walking through Vale it seemed much more lively and energetic with the festival approaching in only a few weeks meaning that people were beginning to flood in from the docks; tourists, students and everyone in between were filling the street and I looked to see Alice was scanning the shops around me with different levels of interest for each one while Weiss did the same but with the decorations all over the city.

"Weiss stay near us, I'd rather not be sent back to Beacon because you picked a fight with the committee again." I said making her stutter in disbelief.

"That only happened once." She replied and I chuckled knowing the real amount of times it happened…three and the third time got her banned from every arts and crafts shop in Vale for the duration of the festival.

"So what's Vale's pull?" Alice asked and I thought for a moment.

"Well we have a plethora of unique shops and since were in the center of Remnant we have the most pull; people are going to pass through here so it's a natural tourist site." Once I finished Alice giggled at me and laughing, "What's so funny?"

"It's just funny to hear you talk about it like it's your home. Your explanation might even be better than Lily's you know."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Also, for the time I had no memory I learned everything I could about the world I was in."

"Didn't stop you from falling asleep in Port's class."

"Hey, you fell asleep to. Speaking of how did you guys end up in Minstral of all places?"

"We weren't sure where you ended up so we decided to choose one we thought you would be in."

"And you chose the swamp area." She hit my chest my chest playfully.

"Shut up, I'll admit it might not have been the smartest choice but we were worried. You hadn't shown up since yesterday so you had us worried."

"Yesterday…aw man! That means my mom is worried to."

"No, Lily covered for you by saying you fell asleep at the hospital in my room."

"Gonna have to thank her for that one then."

"…So…you finally found your calling?"

"Well…my purpose at least."

"You want to protect peoples' purpose…right?"

"…Right." I replied surprised that she remembered it, "Everyone has a reason to live and I want to protect their right to live and fulfill those purposes. I'll even help them fulfill their purpose if I can…I guess it's what I was meant to do."

"W-Well I'll help you through all of this…we all will." She said grabbing my hand, "A-And if it wouldn't be too much…w-when it's all over…w-would you like to help me fulfill mine?" She looked away embarrassed…why was my heart beating so fast…usually we're interrupted at this point and it doesn't get this awkward…WHAT DO I SAY!?

"W-Well...I…um…I wouldn't- I mean- I suppose-" Suddenly she put her hands over my mouth her face beat red.

"S-Save your answer for later! I-I can wait." Pulling her hands away we stood there awkwardly unable to look at each other…this is weird…

"Hey! We told you stop messing with the decorations!"

"You people have no class!" Alice and I looked over to see Weiss trying to put up her own decorations again.

"Where did she get those?" Alice asked surprised.

"I don't know but we should stop her. At this rate she'll get us banned from the festival entirely." Moving forward we grabbed Weiss and I apologized…again for her actions and decided we should head back to the school.

"No fair." Weiss said pouting as we walked away and I pat her head as she blushed embarrassed.

"Sorry, guess we couldn't look around Vale much today." I said apologizing to Alice who looked away blushing.

"T-That's okay…it was still fun…r-right?" She asked looking back at me and I felt my heart beat faster again.

"Y-Yeah." I replied. Weiss tried to skulk away and I quickly pulled her back into the middle of Alice and I, "Not happening Weiss."

"Boo."


	13. Chapter 13 (Others)

"Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for battle!" Ruby yelled confidently.

"Bring it on!" Yang retaliated.

"I deploy the Atlesian Air Fleet! Looks like I get to fly over your Ursai and attack your walls directly and since Atlas is part of Mantle my repair time only lasts one turn." …Smart move…wait…no!

"Ruby it's a trap!" I yelled standing next to her making her give a look of panic.

"Pretty sneaky sis, but you just activated my trap card! Giant Nevermore!" Damn it I was right, "If I roll a seven or higher fatal feathers will slice your fleet in two!"

"But if you roll a six or lower the Nevermore will turn on your own forces!" Ruby rebutted and Yang gave her a confident glare.

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take." Yang rolled her dice confidently and as we watched them roll one die came up as a one making Ruby give a face of triumph before the other die fell on a six, "HAH!"

"NOOOOOO! My fearless soldiers!" Ruby yelled in distress.

"Eh, most of them were probably androids."

"I told you, Wave of sadness would have saved your troops." I said as Ruby sulked.

"Goodbye my friends…you shall be avenged."

"Not until I draw my rewards, which are doubled this round, thanks to the Mistral trade route!" Yang drew her rewards with a smug grin, "Oh, and what's this? The Smugglers of Wind Path!? Looks like I'm taking two cards from your hand."

"Have you no heart!?" Defeated Ruby slammed her head down in defeat, "Noooo."

"Next time Ruby…next time." I said patting her back in sympathy.

"Well Weiss it's your turn." Yang said motioning to Weiss.

"I have…no idea what's going on here."

"I've seen this played a dozen times now and the rules still don't make any sense." Alice added squinting as she looked at Weiss's hand.

"You never got most board games we played." I said thinking out loud.

"Remember Yu-Gi-Oh?" Gareth said making us chuckle.

"Hey! That game was too complicated!" She retorted.

"Look Weiss you're playing as Vacuo which means all Vacuo based cards come with a bonus." Yang explained.

"That sounds dumb."

"Really dumb."

"Look you've got…Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge- oh! Resourceful raider! With it you can take Ruby's discarded air fleet and put it in your hand!"

"Okay?"

"And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance boost against natural hazards you can use sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom!" That sounds…too perfect a plan, "Just know that I will not forget this declaration of war."

"And that mean?"

"Your just three moves away from conquering Remnant!" Ruby said still sulking; as she said that a glint appeared in Weiss's eye as she stood up laughing.

"Hahahahaha! YES! FEAR THE ALMIGHTY POWER OF MY FORCES," Something doesn't feel right…Yang still has a card down…crap, "COWER AS THEY PILLAGE YOUR HOMES AND WEEP AS THEY TAKE YOUR CHILDREN FROM YOUR VERY ARMS-"

"Weiss don't it's a trap!" I shouted.

"Huh?"

"Trap card." Yang quickly said holding up the card Inner defenses. For this turn only when her walls are breached while she still has troops on the field she can take out the forces threatening her kingdom by sending her troops back to her home base.

"Huh!?"

"Your armies have been destroyed." Yang said as she swiped Weiss's pieces off the board and Weiss slumped into her seat with a look of hurt on her face.

"I hate this game of emotions we play!"

"Stay strong Weiss," Ruby said hugging Weiss in shared pain, "We'll make it through this together!"

"Shut up! Don't touch me!" Weiss retaliated returning the hug as we chuckled.

"Geez, Yang is brutal." Alice said moving over to me and Gareth as I sat down taking Ruby's hand.

"Yang is a tough competitor. I've only beaten her once…and that's when she had to quit early."

"So you've never beaten her." Alice said and I nodded; I looked over to see Lily studying and called her over.

"Lily it's time to show our stuff!" Lily gave a nod and sat down at Weiss's spot picking up her hand, "Get ready Yang…I'm not leaving without tarnishing your record." She chuckled at me sounding amused with the idea, soon to be a reality, of me beating her.

"Wait your turn little boy. Blake it's your turn."

"Huh? Oh..um…Sorry, what am I doing?"

"You're playing as Vale trying to conquer the kingdoms of Remnant."

"Right."

"Hey, can I play?" Jaune asked standing behind Weiss and Lily.

"Sorry Jaune, we've already got four people." Ruby explained standing behind me.

"You can stand on support for Yang or Blake but odds are you won't get a chance to switch out." I said shrugging.

"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt you possess." Weiss said.

"Didn't you attack your own naval fleet two turns ago?" Yang asked at which Weiss grumbled.

"Bring it on, ice queen," Jaune said confidently, "I'll have you know that I've been told I'm a natural born leader."

"By who? Your mother?"

"A-And Pyyrha."

"Hello again!" Pyrrha said waving as I waved back.

"Come on! Just let me play your hand for a turn." Jaune begged.

"I-I suppose it wouldn't be-" Before Lily could finish her sentence Weiss stuck her hand out to block her.

"I do not trust you with the good citizens of Vacuo!"

"Why not? You've trusted me with WAY more important stuff before!" Jaune rebutted, "I mean you told us all that Blake is secretly a f-"

"un loving person that we all admire and respect!" Pyrrha finished covering Jaune's mouth before he spewed out something stupid.

"Right." Jaune said with a nervous chuckle as Blake glared at him intensely.

"Want to try that again?" Alice asked also glaring at him.

"Enjoy your battle then." Jaune said with a bow.

"Sup' losers." I looked over to see Sun standing there with a goofy grin on his face.

"S-Sun. There you are; we haven't seen you for a few days now." Lily said happily.

"I figured the police had caught him." Alice said making us all turn to her, "What!? He steals! Don't give me those looks!"

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Soren, ice queen."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that!?"

"I didn't get the chance to introduce you to my old friend." Sun motioned to a boy in a red jacket and black jeans with sneaker and goggles just holding up his blue hair…how was he pulling off blue hair!?

"Um…aren't libraries for reading?" He asked.

"Thank you!" Ren shouted from the back obviously annoyed by the amount of noise we were creating.

"Pancakes!" Nora yelled waking up from her nap.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd."

"Intellectual. Okay? Thank you. I'm Neptune." He said waving to us and I looked to see Alice had jumped forward and was standing right next to him.

"H-Hey Neptune. H-How have you been?" Alice asked getting flustered and twirling a strand of hair on her finger…I don't know anything about this guy…but I already don't like him.

"I've been good. How about you Alice, it's been a few weeks."

"I-I-I've been doing well. W-We found Soren." She said motioning to Gareth obviously not paying attention at which Gareth pointed to me.

"Hey, I'm Soren." I said with a wave and he gave a wave back…but cooler somehow…how did he make a wave cool?!

"So Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked.

"Haven." Neptune responded moving over to Weiss, "And I don't believe I caught your name snow angel."

"Um…I'm Weiss." She replied with cheeks turning pink.

"Are you kidding me!?" Jaune said quietly unable to believe that line worked on Weiss…as was I; Jaune used that line no fewer than 48 times and it NEVER worked before.

"I never took you as the board game playing type." Sun said standing over Blake.

"Right...well I think I'm done playing actually." Blake replied tossing her cards on the table, "I'll see you guys later." With that Blake walked off leaving us all surprised by her anti-social behavior…well…more than usual anti-social behavior.

"Women." Nora said making everyone turn to her in surprise…last thing I expected Nora to say and that list is short.

The game ended with Neptune as the victor for some reason; how did he have a huntsman retaliation card in his hand!? I decided to take a walk around the academy while the others finished studying; looking up at the moon I took a long breath and thought about what's happened so far; after everything that's happened to the four of us we were stuck in this world with no way to get back until Mary contacts us. It seems strange that she didn't contact me when I lost my memory…but then again she is known for leaving us alone to figure things out; considering the situation though time is against us and knowing Owen's final plan only makes the situation so much worse. If we were going to stop Owen then we were going to need to find some way of stopping him from collecting travelers; if we could open portals like he could or even close his it would be easier.

"Soren?" I felt my chest collide with someone's hand and looked to see Velvet standing in front of me, "Are you okay?"

"Oh I'm fine," I replied chuckling, "Just a little lost in thought is all."

"Be careful Soren, last time you almost crashed into Cardin." I remember that, one more step and I would have covered him in his own lunch.

"Yeah…I could have taken him though."

"Not the point." Velvet replied with a sigh.

"I know. Anyway, I wanted to apologized for the trouble I put you through with Owen."

"O-Oh it's okay. Coco was more in charge of the moment then I was."

"Still I want to thank you for being there."

"It ended more peacefully than I expected."

"Except for the injuries."

"R-Right." We both chuckled remembering the moment in more levity than sadness to my relief.

"Anyway what are you doing out so late?"

"My team was in charge of the dance so we were working a bit late."

"Dance?"

"Yes there's a dance coming up in a few weeks." A dance with all the students from different schools; seems strange with the type of school we're attending…but it sounds like fun, Ozpin must know what he's doing…I wonder…, "Hey Soren?" I looked up at Velvet as she broke me from my thoughts, "It's a boy ask girl dance, this might be your opportunity to ask one of the girls you like." One of the girls I like…

"Thanks for the advice…would you mind if I asked you something?"

"O-Oh Soren…w-well I'm flattered…"

"What…oh! No, sorry not what I wanted to ask." I said hastily as she gave a sigh of relief…I feel insulted, "Do you think Ozpin is still in his office?"

"Well-" She pulled out her scroll looking at the clock, "-it's ten-forty two now…so he should be in his office still. He's usually there until eleven-thirty…do you need to ask him something?"

"Yeah…thanks Velvet…and good luck with the dance." I said dashing away with a wave to her at which she returned. Dashing towards the main building I saw Glynda leaving the building with a look of exhaustion on her face; I hope she's not still pissed about the food fight a few days ago, as I approached her she gave a glare before giving a sigh; guess she is, "Hello Glynda."

"It is very late Soren. I hope you have a good reason to be bothering me." She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I actually wanted to see Professor Ozpin before he left for the night." I explained and she cocked her left eye brow at me, "Please? It's important." She gave another sigh.

"Very well, follow me." She led me up the elevator and I waited next to her feeling a moment of deja-vu; it was just like the moment I got here with no memory, Ozpin asked me a few questions, now I had a few questions for him.

"It's good to see you Soren." Ozpin said sipping from his mug, "Would you like something to drink?"

"No thanks. I'm going to sleep after this…provided I get all answers I need." I said leaning forward.

"I will help how I can. Now what would you like to know?"

"Well the first thing is…how long have you known about Alice and the others? Knowing you I'm pretty sure you found out about them from Haven's principle."

"Very true. They were enrolled about two months ago in Haven and I've had the principle keep tabs on them for a while."

"Alright…so we aren't the first case of travelers showing up." I said thinking out loud.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well I know that a visitor from another world is not something most people believe…or entertain. If you found out about my friends then that mean you heard it from Haven's headmaster…and if he's indulging you then this means that he's seen it happen…and I doubt you let the footage out of your hands of when I got here." By this point I was slouched forward putting elbows on the table with the only sound being the sound of the clock ticking away under us, "So how many other cases have you had?" Ozpin stood up and nodded to Glynda behind me who moved up and handed me a scroll with a few pictures of people.

"Those are people who have either died in the field or disappeared without a trace. I show you the deaths because when it was over and they cleared out the grim there was no body…not even bones."

"No bones? Was it after the grim left or did you take out the grim?" I asked.

"Some were later while some were cleared out by other hunters…but the results were the same…missing bodies…missing bones…nothing left."

"…There has to be more."

"Hmm?"

"This can't be all that connects them. While I agree that this is strange this isn't uncommon. I may have only been here a few weeks but I know it's common for hunters to never return from a dangerous mission. Other hunters who have suffered fatal attacks have also been known to turn to pure dust and disappear into the wind…with no trace at all. So while some of these could be travelers like me some of these could just be missing file cases from this world." Ozpin chuckled making me turn my attention back to him.

"Very perceptive. Then let me tell you the third thing these people have in common," He took another sip of his mug, "each of these people have no connection to anyone in Remnant." What!? That…that's definitely a connection, "Either living or dead they had no connection to any parents, cousins, siblings, aunts, uncles or anything else."

"Not even a grandparent?" He sipped his mug slowly, "Right…pretty obvious answer there."

"Anything else?"

"…Yeah…one other thing. I want to know what their semblances were."

"Semblances?" Glynda asked confused.

"More of a curiosity than a necessity…but it might shed some light on the situation."

"…You've seemed more serious lately." Glynda said pulling my attention, "Ever since the day you got your memory back you've been acting with more thought…even during combat sparring I see your eyes dart around at a much more rapid pace." Knew she would notice.

"Well Soren? Care to explain?"

"…I need to find out how to get out of this world." I answered.

"Really? Please elaborate."

"Getting my memory back I found out how I ended up here…and needless to say things aren't looking good for anyone." I gave a more serious tone as I talked, "Without our usual way out of this world me and the others are stuck here as Owen continues his plans. Waiting here feels like waiting for the end to come…that's why I want to know about the travelers' semblance; if it can even give me a hint of what I can do I'll grasp it with everything I have…for everyone I care about…and those with a purpose I have to find a way!"

"Then it pains me to say that each of those hunters and huntresses never used semblance." Hunters that didn't use semblance? I've heard of a few who choose not to use them but to think they never developed their aura to be able to use semblance seems weird, "Some say they were powerful enough to not need a semblance."

"Yeah, some of these files beg to differ." I retorted, "…Maybe they didn't have a semblance?"

"Impossible." Glynda interjected, "Everything that has an aura also has a semblance."

"But these guys weren't from this world. Maybe they play by different rules."

"Really?" Ozpin said catching my attention, "Tell me, if you played checkers your whole life and switched to chess could you play by different rules than the person who played chess their whole life?"

"…No…I should know that better than anyone." I said with a sigh, "Then…was there semblance just too powerful to control?"

"Or they needed intense focus to use it." Glynda said and I felt something click in my brain; focus…the ability to focus on another dimension and envision yourself there, imagination and reality are separate spaces…but the idea of dimensional travel and the span of multiple worlds those lines are blurred…maybe I could…if I…the pieces are there but it's just out of reach!

"Are you okay Soren?" Ozpin asked and I came back to reality looking at Glynda and Ozpin.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Standing up I headed for the elevator and waved goodbye, "thanks for the help; I might have an idea of what to do know." With that I exited the room taking the elevator down and walked back to the dorms feeling a bit better and yet more confused about the situation…geez, what's with my brain lately.

"So we're on our own?" Alice asked as the four of us walked through the courtyard of Beacon in the afternoon.

"Yeah, I don't think Mary is going to contact us any time soon." I replied; I told them what I discussed with Ozpin and what I realized on my way out.

"The line between reality and imagination is blurred…hmmmmm." Lily thought about the idea intently, "It sounds…"

"Hazy?" Gareth suggested making her giggle.

"See, it's hard to grasp fully. All the pieces are there but the puzzle itself is complicated." I said trying to explain myself.

"It sounds like your trying to push two vastly different ideas together." Alice offered, "Knowing what we've been through though that probably makes more sense than it sounds like."

"I-I'll think on it more…m-maybe it actually has some meaning." Lily said thinking and walking as Gareth kept her from bumping into other people.

"Well focusing on it too much will just stress us all out. Let's go hang out with the gang." Gareth said trying to cheer us up.

"I think Ruby and her team are going on an investigation in Vale." Alice said.

"How do you know?" Lily asked.

"They thought I was asleep. I was listening the whole time."

"You're devious." Gareth said and she gave a sly smile.

"Eh, not like we'll do anything with the information." I said shrugging; suddenly a shadow swung down blocking my path, back stepping I looked to see Sun hanging by his tail, "Sun?"

"Yo." He replied.

"You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Get used to it." Alice said with a sigh.

"So Blake and the others are doing something? Sounds like fun." Sun got down and landed on his feet dusting himself off.

"They seemed insistent on keeping friends out of it."

"That's dumb. You should always get friends involved."

"Yes! I love this idea!" Gareth said getting excited.

"No! Last time this happened we had to scrape gum off of the locker room!" Alice yelled.

"This is different."

"Y-Yeah, last time it was a mission to blow a giant bubble gum." Lily finished.

"…That story sounds awesome." I said feeling a bit left out.

"It wears thin quick," Alice said shaking her head, "It's like dealing with two Gareths at once."

"Well let's get moving." Sun said heading for the Beacon student dorm.

"H-He doesn't listen well." Lily said.

"…Just like Gareth." I said in sudden realization.

"Exactly." Alice said and we looked over to see Gareth picking his ear.

"…One Gareth is enough."

"Exactly. So…ignore Sun?"

"Come on guys," Sun yelled at us, "I got Neptune in on it."

"…You know on second thought this might be worth it." Alice jogged towards Sun and Neptune to my surprise as I heard Lily and Gareth laugh.

"It's always the cool ones." Gareth said still chuckling and Lily nodded with a smile.

"You know…I REALLY don't like Neptune."

"Any particular reason?" Lily asked.

"He's just…too cool. Nobody can be THAT cool…also I don't like how Alice is around him…she's like outside Alice…and I can only take that in small doses." They craned their necks and squinted at Alice before widening their eyes in realization.

"Oooohhhh!" They said in unison.

"He's right. It's like almost dead on." Gareth said nodding.

"…D-Does that mean she's not using her brain?" Lily asked making both of us chuckle and making her blush.

"Nice one," I complimented, "and most likely…we should probably follow them."

"T-That might be tough." Lily pointed over and we looked to see all three of them…climbing the side of the building…huh?


	14. Chapter 14 (Weakness)

"Alright with this big a group it's going to be a bit lopsided." Ruby said looking over all of us; with all of us together it was now ten people.

"We're headed to the White Fang members initiation. I think Sun and I should go alone as we're the only faunus here." Blake explained.

"Since I'm headed to the shady part of town I could always use a little back-up if anyone is willing." Yang said and I saw Gareth walk over and give her a high-five.

"We're going to check the Schnee company dust records at the tower. It shouldn't be too hard so if anyone is up for a simple task." Weiss said.

"We're going to sight see!" Ruby said excitedly and Lily moved over bouncing up and down, "Alright, that leaves Soren, Alice and Neptune. Alice, you're with us, Soren you go with Blake and Sun as back-up and Neptune you go with Yang and Gareth since they need one more person." Ruby pushed Neptune over to Yang and I saw him wink at Weiss.

"A-Actually Ruby. Maybe you should go with Yang," Weiss said, "I mean after all she is your sister."

"But then what about you guys? Four seems like a lot to take to a shady disco."

"I guess Neptune could come with us." Weiss offered and I saw Alice's eyes light up slightly.

"That sounds like a good idea." Alice said siding with Weiss…of course.

"Pft, nah!" Thank you Ruby! Grabbing Weiss's collar Ruby dragged her out as Lily followed.

"I'll see you later Soren." Alice said waving as she walked off which I returned. The next group to head off was Yang's group leaving me with Blake and Sun.

"Alright so we're headed to an initiation for new White Fang members," Blake explained to me, "I doubt they would let a human near the initiation." She's got a point; I'm not a faunus and the only thing that could even get me near there is a disguise.

"I've got just the thing." Sun said pulling out a cat ears headband, "They're made out of rubber making the flexible and movable."

"That seems weird." I said flicking the ears and seeing them move slightly.

"Where did you get those?" Blake asked sounding a little offended.

"Faunus supporter rally." Sun answered as I set the band under my hair so just the ears were sticking out of the top, "They were giving them out to everyone."

"Well I doubt those will get him past white fang members but from a distance he could be mistaken for a faunus." Blake said thinking…maybe that would help.

"Hey Blake do you still have that White Fang mask I gave you a month back?" Moving over to her bed Blake pulled out the mask from under her mattress and handed it to me, "With this I can hang out near the area and as long as I stay out of inspection range they'll just think I'm a White Fang member on guard." Putting the mask in my pocket I saw Blake in deep thought as Sun played with his tail.

"I suppose it will work…just stay out of trouble okay?" Blake asked and I nooded making her smile, "Than let's head out. We have some time before they start gathering faunus so let's gather as much info as we can."

"Let's hit the shops. I know a good place to start." Sun said leading us down the hall.

"Where?" We asked.

"Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun."

"Hm, not a bad tagline." I said.

"Well…he didn't have The Third Crusade last time I was there." Blake added as we walked out of the dorms.

Alice

"The Vale communication tower." Weiss said in a chipper tone; she was going to go into a lecture about the tower wasn't she, "One of the four communication towers that span Remnant and give communication between kingdoms. Without them we wouldn't be as prosperous as we are now." Yep, lecture.

"Look at me, I'm Weiss, I know facts, I'm rich." Ruby mocked snickering with Lily.

"Don't be pest!" Weiss said with a glare making Lily cringe behind Ruby, "We're only here because you like the tower so much, we could have just as easily made a call from the library."

"That's why we're here!?" I yelled surprised; it really is a glorified field trip!

"But it's so cool! I'm gonna take a picture." Ruby pulled out her scroll and in her haste dropped it to the ground in front of a girl with orange hair.

"Oh…" She picked it up and help it out to Ruby, "You dropped this."

"…Penny?" Penny, the girl from the docks that night?

"Penny Polendina. Age: Unknown, Backround: Unknown…I don't have any info on her besides her name." Lily said sulking in defeat.

"Where have you been?" Ruby asked stepping towards her, "We haven't seen you since the night at the docks, I need to know what happened to you last night," I noticed that as Ruby stepped forward Penny seem to back step in fear, "Those guys were dangerous."

"I don't believe I know what you are talking about." She replied; suddenly she hiccupped throwing the scroll into Ruby's hands and dashing off.

"Penny, wait!" Ruby dashed off after Penny suddenly shocking us.

"Ruby, hang on!" I said chasing after her, "Ah, you two make the call, I'll go after Ruby." They gave a nod and I went off catching up with Penny and Ruby.

"Penny it's been weeks. Where have you been?"

"There seems to be…a misunderstanding." Penny said sounding like she was trying to form what to say.

"What? Penny is everything okay?" Ruby quickly moved in front of her, "Penny please stop! Look, I don't know what's wrong but you have to listen to me. Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened that night…please, as a friend." Penny gave a long sigh and looked around with a worried expression before approaching Ruby.

"It isn't safe to talk here…also who is she?" She asked pointing to me and I gave a nervous wave feeling completely separate from the situation.

"She's Alice, a friend…kind of like Weiss."

"Every time I hear that it becomes more of an insult you know." I said gripping my fist.

Lily

Alice rushed off after Ruby and I heard Weiss give an annoyed sigh.

"Honestly she's more of a hassle than a leader." Weiss said placing her hands on her hips, "Anyway let's head to the tower, I'd like to get this over with quickly."

"Really? W-Why?" I asked intrigued.

"Well I'm sure there is more information I can gather once I'm done with this. The longer we wait the more information we lose." She replied proudly.

"I-I feel the same way! The more information we can find the better!" I replied feeling more excited and she giggled.

"I think we'll get along just fine then." We entered the elevator and an automated message began to play.

"Welcome to the CCT, how may I help you?"

"W-We'd like to go to the communications room please." I answered.

"Absolutely, could you please place your scrolls on the terminal to verify your identity." We both placed our scrolls onto the pad and heard two chimes, "Perfect, thank you Miss Schnee and Miss Tesit." The elevator began to rise as we stood there in silence; all I could hear was the sound of the elevator clatter on its tracks; out of the corner of my ear I could hear Weiss give a sigh and turned to see her giving a smile…wait…that's not a genuine smile. When we came to the top we stepped off the elevator and approached the front desk as a virtual clerk phased in, "Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit Center, how may I help you?"

"I need to make a call to Schnee company world headquarters in Atlas." Weiss answered.

"Absolutely, if you could head over to terminal three I'll patch you through."

"Thank you." Passing by terminals I saw different students talking to their family and friends through the screens; it was like a long distance phone call service. Weiss sat down and took a deep breath as the terminal flashed on with a woman appearing.

"Thank you for calling the Atlas-" She looked up and stopped in surprise, "Oh, Miss Schnee! Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well."

"No thank you." Weiss replied in a polite tone, "I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." Weiss slid her scroll into the slot and the woman's eyes began to scan the list from her side.

"I see…if you don't mind…what may I ask is this for?"

"School project." She didn't miss a beat on that lie.

"Um…there are some sensitive documents on this list ma'am."

"Well then I'll be sure to treat them with care"

"Right…very well! The data is being transferred to your scroll now."

"Wonderful, that will be all then." Weiss replied pulling her scroll from the terminal.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"

"…Yes…I'm sure."

"Well then, have a nice day!" The screen turned off and Weiss gave a sigh again.

"I-Is something wrong?"

"No, just…thinking." She was lying again.

"Oh…okay…I-I know it's not my place to say anything but…e-even if you don't want to talk with your father you could send him a letter…let him know you're okay. I'm sure he's worried about you."

"I'll…think about it. For now we should look over these records." Opening her scroll I moved over and scanned the records of dust shipments for any strange shipments.

"Hey why are we looking through shipments?"

"Any large shipments being sent to an area where robberies took place would mean that somebody inside the Schnee company is collaborating with the White Fang."

"Wouldn't that mean that the shipments are being sent there to be robbed?"

"Precisely."

"…I don't see any irregularities."

"…Me neither. That's a relief." Weiss closed her scroll and gave a sigh of relief, "I'd rather not see the Schnee dust company tarnished."

"Well at least the robberies are just that…well maybe."

"What do you mean maybe?" I pulled out my record book from my bag and flipped to the records I kept on the dust robberies; it had the date , time and an estimate on how much dust was taken during the robbery.

"Whoa! This is more detailed than most Dust files!"

"W-Well records and information is kind of my passion." I said looking down embarrassed.

"This could be helpful…let's compare these to the shipments and see if they line up."

"O-Okay!" Opening up the records again we began comparing my records to Weiss's files in hopes of uncovering something…but to be honest I kind of didn't want to.

Alice

Ruby and I stood in front of the café where I met with Blake before waiting for Penny; she said she would meet us here and explain what happened that night at the docks, I wasn't entirely sure who exactly she was but that night she had a strange ability and a crazy amount of power.

"So who is Penny?" I asked Ruby and she thought for a moment before giving me a look of confusion.

"Honestly I'm not sure. The day we met her she seemed like an ordinary girl but now I don't know what to think of her; she seems like a normal girl but the way she controls those swords makes me wonder."

"Really? From what Soren told me she seemed socially awkward…although not in a normal way."

"Yeah…she does seem kind of abnormal." We chuckled thinking about it, "Speaking of abnormal…would you mind if I asked a question?"

"Shoot."

"You, Soren, Gareth and Lily are from another dimension right?"

"Yeah?" Where was she going with this?

"In that world your legs don't work?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I was just wondering how you're able to move freely like that if it's the same body?" !...How am I able to move? Mary's explanation would mean she transferred my body…it's the exact same body as in my hospital bed. Why didn't I ask when I last saw her…why didn't I see this flaw in logic!?

"I…I don't know why." I admitted looking at my hand…was I trembling?

"Salutations." Hearing a voice I quickly looked over to see Penny had shown up, "Is something wrong?"

"N-No." I replied gripping my trembling hand, "Just chatter."

As we walked Ruby asked Penny a multitude of questions about the night in question but she seemed just as confused and befuddled as we were on who those people were.

"I wish I could help you two but I don't know anything about those men." Penny answered and Ruby gave a sigh.

"Well what happened to you that night?" Ruby asked, "We were all together and then you just disappeared? Were you kidnaped!?"

"Oh no! Nothing like that!" Penny replied.

"Well then where did you go?"

"I'd never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far but…" She seemed to droll off before looking back worried, "You have to understand, my father loves me very much, he just worries a lot."

"I can understand that." I replied.

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby added, "But, why not let us know you were okay?"

"I…was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss, or Blake, or Yang; anybody really. He seemed very insisted that I not speak to you." She pointed at me, "Or Soren, or Gareth, or Lily." He must know who we are then…or…NOT know who we are.

"Was your dad that upset?" Ruby asked.

"No…it…wasn't my father-" Before she finished I heard chattering and we all looked over to see we had approached the center of town; it looked like an exhibition being led by a man in a white suit with mechs standing in the back…no wait…it was a hologram of the man.

"The kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation," He began, "And 'fine', well that's just not good enough is it?" The shudders on the lockers pulled up revealing two lines of three sleek white robots, "Presenting, the Atlesian Knight, 200!" Everyone gave a cheer as they stepped off the rack onto the stand floor, "Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly…a little less scary." The knights gave various gestures at which I rolled my eyes, "These models will become active later this year but they won't be alone! Now…the Atlesian military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield."

"Bad idea." I said making Ruby and Penny look at me, "As dangerous as it is technology still isn't to the point where it can be used without being turned against us. If we don't take good care of our tech then someone is just going to use it against us…sometimes humans are necessary."

"However," He continued, "there are still many situations that undoubtedly require a human touch. So our kingdoms greatest minds in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company are proud to introduce…the Atlesian Paladin!" His hologram shrank down and in his place was the hologram of a giant mech robot at which everyone cheered again, "Now we couldn't have them here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year."

"Whoa." Ruby said jaw dropped by the giant robot.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else." Penny said looking slightly anxious; near the stand were two guards who looked over at us and pointed…this wasn't good. I looked at Penny to see she had started running down the alley as the guards advanced on us.

"Ruby, go after Penny, I'll lead them away from you guys!" Ruby gave a nod and I stood there for a moment as they approached; when they got close enough I started running down the street.

"Hey, stop!" They gave chase as I ran and turning a corner I looked up to see a stack of paint can hanging on a ladder picking one up I splashed it on the pavement corner and as they turned both men slipped to the floor. Dropping the can I started running again and stopping to find out where I was I saw Ruby tumble from one of the alleys into the street as a truck was approaching her.

"Ruby, move!" I yelled as she got up shakily unable to quickly avoid the truck; jumping forward I pulled out Enchanter and held it to block but was surprised as Penny moved in front of me…and stopped the truck with her bare hands!?

"Are you okay?" She asked the driver who gave a scared nod. I looked around me to see people gather around us; Penny quickly blew past me and Ruby into the alley, "Penny, wait!"

"Penny, come back!" We gave chase to her and eventually came to a dead end were Penny was looking around franticly, "Penny, what is going on!? Why are you running!? How did you do that!?"

"I-I can't. Everything's fine!" She hiccupped, "I don't- I don't want to talk about it!" She hiccupped again looking away with an ashamed look on her face.

"Penny-" I stopped Ruby before she continued and approached Penny slowly.

"Penny, I know I just met you and you don't know me very well…but I can tell you're keeping things bottled up…and if you keep them bottled up like that then it will lead you to do some very bad things. So please…tell us what's wrong…we're your friends; that means you can trust us." I put my hand on her shoulder and she looked up at me.

"You promise you guys are my friends?" She asked and both Ruby and I nodded, "I'm…not…a real girl." She held her hands out to us and I looked to see some of her skin had peeled away to reveal a metal underneath; she was a robot…no…an A.I.

"…Oh." That was all me or Ruby could reply in that moment.

"I-I'm not sure I get it." I said feeling confused.

"Most girls are born…but I was made." Penny explained, "I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura…I'm not real." Ruby stepped forward grabbing her hands.

"…Of course you are." Ruby replied, "You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real then us?"

"I don't…um…" Penny struggled to find the words, "You're…taking this extraordinarily well."

"You're not like those things we saw back there, you've got a heart," Ruby tapped her chest and the small tap of flesh hitting metal could be heard, "And a soul! I can feel it!"

"Yeah." I added, "You're just like Ruby, Weiss, Soren or me…you'd be a friend regardless of that anyway." She seemed to well up with emotion as she pulled both of us into a hug…a cold, metallic hug of friendship.

"Oh, Ruby, Alice; you two are the best friends anyone could have."

"I can see why you father would want to protect such a delicate flower." Ruby said as she was crushed.

"Oh, he is very sweet." Penny replied letting go of us; finally I can breathe, "My father is the one that built me. I'm sure you would just love him."

"Yeah a guy who creates girls…sounds like a real cup of tea." I replied.

"I don't think he drinks tea actually." Penny replied.

"He built you all by himself?" Ruby asked.

"Well…almost. He had some help from Mr. Ironwood."

"The General?"

"…Is that why those soldiers were after you?" I asked realizing the connection.

"They like to protect me too." Penny replied.

"They don't think you can protect yourself?" Ruby asked jokingly.

"They're not sure if I'm ready yet. One day it will be my job to save the world. But I still have a lot to learn. That's why they let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the ret of the world and test myself in the tournament."

"No better place to see the rest of the world then at the festival." I said.

"Exactly."

"Penny, what are you talking about?" Ruby asked, "Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace." Penny gave her a confused look.

"That's not what Mr. Ironwood said."

"Let's check down here!" Those are the soldier's voices.

"You guys have to hide!" She picked both of us up and shoved us into the nearby trash can.

"Penny we can help you!" Ruby yelled and I covered her mouth.

"It's okay Ruby. They're not bad people. I just don't want you guys to get in trouble."

"I feel like that ship sailed for me when they slipped on paint." I said.

"Just promise me you two won't tell anyone about my secret…okay?" We both nodded in agreement and she closed the lid. We listened as Penny lied to the soldiers and walked away with them; to our relief they seemed more worried with her safety then catching us.

"Glad that worked out." I said sitting back; suddenly I heard a small squeak and looked down to see a rat at my knees.

Gareth

The motorcycle came to a jarring stop making Neptune and I lurch forward; Yang removed her helmet and stepped off the bike as Neptune regained his sense and I waited for the rush to go down; this chick was crazy and it was awesome! Stepping off the motorcycle I looked to see Yang walking towards a giant warehouse; as she approached it two of the guys at the entrance seemed to give a lok of worry and rush into the building closing the doors behind them.

"Alright boys-" Yang cracked her knuckles and brought out her cuff weapons, "-stand back." She reeled back and punched the door making them open as the sounds of someone hitting the ground could be heard from the other end; she strode in confidently as music played in the background, "Guess who's back!?" Guns were immediately pointed at us and I reached for my axe when suddenly Yang stopped me and looked up at where the music was coming from…it was skipping the same part over and over again now; it suddenly stopped as someone pulled the needle off the record; they use records here!?

"Stop! Stop!" Someone in the back said, "Nobody shoot!" A man in a much more casual suite than the others stepped forward with a nervous look on his face, "Blondie! You're here…why?" She stepped forward and grabbed him by his collar.

"You still owe me a drink." She dragged him away as we stood there as Neptune ogled her.

"What a woman." We looked over to see two girls giving us icy stares; they were dressed very similarly with one in red and the other in white…looked like twins, "Sup?" They turned their heads in sync and walked away.

"Humph. Whatever."

"You ruin our chances with women." I said putting my hand on his shoulder.

Soren

Blake led us to an alleyway into the back area of a vacant building; we had wandered into, what I like to call, the badlands of town and on the wall next to us were three white claw marks and around the corner was a faunus who was leading others into the back door.

"This is the place." Blake said looking back to us.

"You sure?" She shot Sun and icy glare as he said that, "You know what, I'm just gonna take your word for it."

"I'll move to the front." I said putting on my ears and mask, "Just give me a signal when you need me." They nodded and moved into the back door as I moved around the perimeter heading to the front of the building; as I passed White Fang members they gave me slight glances before passing by me, good to know this disguise was working…! I looked back at the White Fang member feeling a familiar tension and dark aura surrounding him…no, got to get to the front; continuing forward I passed a few members who took a second glance before continuing to walk. I was getting to tense and they could sense it…or smell it; I'm not sure; eventually I made it to the front of the building and took a seat leaning against the building. Pulling out my scroll I looked through my contacts until I came upon Alice, Lily and Gareth and started a text feed.

Soren: Just made it to the White Fang faction meeting. How about you guys?

Alice: Ruby and I got a little off track but we've found out the Schnee company is collaborating with Atlas for new tech.

Gareth: Yang is talking with her friend right now for information, nothing interesting yet.

Lily: Nothing about the robberies seems to collate with the shipments.

Soren: Alright then. Everyone keep your scroll on speed dial for each other, there's no telling what could happen.

Gareth: K

Lily: Got it.

Alice: Alright. Stay out of trouble.

Closing the scroll I stretched out and listened to the speech being told from inside the building.

Gareth

Closing my scroll I looked back at Yang and Junior as he downed his drink; must be a heavy drinker; that was all vodka.

"I don't know." He said with an irritated tone.

"How can you not know?" Yang asked sounding equally irritated.

"I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here! He paid up front, I lent him my men, and none of them ever came back." Neptune slammed on the table dramatically.

"So where did they go?" Dead silence filled the air as Junior slowly turned his head to Neptune.

"What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back." Oh Neptune, "Who is this guy?"

"Don't worry about him-" Yang said pushing him away, "-worry about me if I don't find out what I want!"

"I already told you everything!" Junior retorted getting more angry, "Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them-" He turned his head to his henchmen, "-which is something I can relate to!"

"What did you expect?" I asked, "They're 'henchmen', not really reliable in a serious fight."

"Tell me about it…after they came back I had to rethink the whole payment plan."

"Wait-" Yang said in sudden realization, "-you said they never came back." Junior's eyes went wide and Yang gripped his arm, "Junior, you know it's not good to hold out on a LADY!" She squeezed and he gave a scream.

"Alright!" He said and she let go, "They came back but only after being jailed for three months after Torchwick left them for the police to pick up. All they did was hold up a dust shop but thanks to some girl they didn't get any dust and Torchwick took off; happy?" He seemed to calm down after saying that, "Now if we're done here, I have a business to run."

"…Let's go guys." Yang said as we walked away from the bar.

"We get everything we need?" Neptune asked.

"Everything we can, nice job Gareth."

"Thanks, I'm not allowed to help in interrogations…I usually do what Neptune did." I replied, "Seems he was after dust though."

"We already knew that, that's why he was at the docks that night."

"Then why did he hire guys to rob a small dust shop?" Neptune asked and she stopped walking for a minute.

"…Good question…hopefully the others are having more luck than us."

Soren

As I sat there I could hear various cheering and chanting as someone talked on the other end; seems the rally was working…not exactly good for us. Suddenly there was the sound of gunshots making me stand and pull out my blade; looks like our cover was blown, now I just have to wait for Blake's signal…probably should have worked that out earlier. I heard the sound of glass shattering as Balke and Sun came crashing through the window and rolled as they kept running; sheathing my sword I caught up to them and began running with them.

"Hell of a signal to use!" I said as a mech came crashing through the wall I was just leaning against, "What is that!?"

"No time!" Blake replied jumping onto the roof as Sun and I followed; the mech ran through the streets keeping up with us as we jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

"You wouldn't happen to have some form of backup would you?" Sun asked and I pulled out my scroll as Blake did the same.

Lily

Hearing my scroll ring I picked it up to see Soren had called me.

"Guys! In a bit of a bind! Can you guys-"

"Heeeeellllpppp!" Was that Sun's voice? I looked at Weiss who gave me a nod and we rushed out of the tower following Blake and Soren's tracking marker.

Alice

"They've got a robot and it's big! Really big!" They pissed off a robot!?

"Oh, I am not missing this!" Ruby said dashing off as I followed behind.

"Damn it Soren, I said stay OUT of trouble! This is the exact opposite of out of trouble!"

Gareth

"That Torchwick guy is in it! But not like…it didn't eat him…he's, like, controlling it or something."

"Sun turns into a surfer talker when he's worried." I commented.

"Where are you guys?!" Yang asked sounding worried; out of the corner of my ear I could hear heavy footsteps stomping down the street and turned to see Blake, Soren and Sun being chased by a giant robot.

"Huurrrryyyyyy!" Sun yelled as he kept running.

"I think that was them." Neptune said and Yang revved up her bike and we chased after it.

Soren

As we ran I could see we were about to hit a highway full of moving cars; come on, I just learned how to jump from building to building, moving objects isn't my expertise. As we approached it I could hear a second pair of metal feet approaching; I looked behind me to see another mech coming after us behind Torchwick.

"Are you kidding me!?" Sun said, "Two of them!?"

"I'm on it!" I said making a full stop and dashing past Torchwick as I pulled out my blade and jumped plunging it into the center and hearing sparks as the mech flailed trying to throw me off; I looked back to see Blake and Sun had led Torchwick into the high way and pulled my blade out jumping back onto the ground. It swung at me and I backed up and dashed in slicing the arm; he swung forward knocking me back and onto the ground; getting up I looked to see Alice, Gareth and Lily were approaching me.

"That thing is massive!" Gareth said sounding impressed.

"Now's not the time to sound impressed." Alice said pulling out her Enchanter.

"How are we going to take it out?" Lily asked sounding unsure.

"It's a machine right?" I said pulling out my dust clip and putting ice bullets into it, "Then I think a little rust should slow it down! Alice you're on fire; Lily, you and Gareth need to keep it distracted while we get everything ready." They gave a nod and dashed forward taking the mechs' attention off of us as they moved around hectically from all ends; moving forward Alice and I started lining the ground with ice. I shot at different point making the ice spread where I shot as Alice sliced along the ground making the ice spread to the right and left from where she sliced; eventually we had completely covered the area he was standing on in ice, "Gareth, Lily, back out!" Lily vaulted back and Gareth tried to back step but ended up slipping on the ice; Lily pulled Gareth out with her staff and I pushed skating back and jumped off the ice, "Alice now!" Alice leapt up and jumped off the mech with all her force and turned swinging down and sending a wave of fire dust at the ground creating a mist around the mech as she landed and backed out of the mist. When the mist cleared the mech was now coated in brown rust as it moved slowly, "Gareth! Power!"

"Time to shatter metal!" Gareth yelled charging forward and pulling back as he switched to power focus; he swung with everything he had and the mech came apart as pieces flew away leaving the controller on the ground.

"Nice!"

"Good job Gareth." Lily said as we moved up to him and he pulled out his shotgun pointing it at the pilot.

"Gareth! What are you doing!?" I yelled surprising rushing up to him and grabbing the shotgun from his hand.

"You think you can fool me?" He said in a serious tone shocking all of us, "How about you stop trying to hide shapeshifter." We all stopped looking down at the pilot to see him chuckle darkly as his form fell apart and changed into Damien.

"Damien!" Lily said surprised as we all backed up and I tossed Gareth his shotgun; he cocked it pointing it at Damien who stood there smiling.

"Why are you back?" Alice asked keeping her hand on her katana.

"You went running with Owen." I said still surprised.

"…You think that's a reason to give up? No, this opportunity is just what I wanted!" He screamed, "I knew that mech couldn't stop you…any one of you could have taken it out that mech…but it was disposable…you truly are powerful people…I can feel it." He stepped forward as the look in his eye became wilder, "The overwhelming power you all have…it's delicious to see…but I'll but my hunger aside for the moment." He was here for a purpose!?

"W-What do you want with us?" Lily asked and he looked over with a wicked smile.

"I don't care what you want, you won't get it!" Gareth said taking a shot followed by a smoke mist from his blast shot; suddenly Damien sped out of it stabbing Gareth with two knives sending him flying back.

"Gareth!" Lily yelled and Damien snaked over to her.

"Lily behind you!" With Alice's warning Lily swung her scythe in a full circle as Damien separated his body in two as the blow went through him and reconnected quickly grabbing Lily and throwing her into the air. I dashed forward separating Twin soul and sending a flurry of blows at him; he morphed around them changing the holes to follow my slices like it was second nature and retaliated by slicing at me quickly and grabbing Lily as she fell and throwing her at me knocking both of us back and onto the floor.

"Lily, are you okay?" She groaned slightly and stood up shakily as I looked over to see Gareth had gotten back up. Alice dashed forward and sent an ice slash at his feet freezing him in place as he looked down calmly; Alice separated Enchanter and sliced with fire and ice enchantments as Gareth and I shot at him and Lily moved in to assist. As we hit him from every angle he seemed to just let our shots and blows go through him and laughed at us the whole time; we all stepped back feeling exhausted from the constant attacking as he stood there dusting himself off.

"Is that it?" He asked with a cocky smile.

"You smug bastard!" Gareth yelled charging forward and swinging his axe wildly; he swung over and over again as the blows went through Damien and eventually Gareth stopped completely exhausted and Damien pulled out his knife thrusting it into Gareth who flew back and collapsed onto the ground.

"Gareth!" Lily bent down and held his unconscious body.

"How can he just make our attacks go through him?" Alice asked surprised. I looked back as he wiped some sweat from his brow dramatically; he was mocking us.

"You think you guys are the only ones getting better…no…it's a different game now…one you won't be winning!" Morphing out of the ice he dashed at Lily and I moved to block but he shrank to a mouse going under the blade and morphed back to Damien and sliced along Lily's back with a short sword and she gasped before collapsing on Gareth.

"Lily!" I yelled as Damien laughed.

"Is this it!? I expected that after you took out the mech you would be able to handle me but if this all you have then what power do you have!?" I jumped forward and swung as he morphed around it, "You don't learn…do you?" He swung at me knocking me into a nearby building and my scroll bounced out of my jacket; I looked at it to see Lily and Gareth's were completely depleted while I was in the red and Alice was yellow.

"Alice, nitrogen!" I yelled standing up and she circled Damien scraping the ground with her blade as a blue circle began to glow around him; taking an ice shot I hit the perimeter of the circle and it sent a line of ice directly at Damien and consumed his body in ice making him immobile, now he can't dodge our attack! Alice changed to fire and began her slash on Damien as he suddenly turned to liquid and with Alice's attack shot out of the opening reforming next to the ice double; he changes THAT fast! Suddenly he pulled out his knives and began his assault on Alice and sending her flying before she fell to the floor a few feet away. I looked back at the scroll to see her aura was completely depleted; she stood up shakily and a green barrier seemed to dissipate from her body making my pulse begin to race; I dashed forward and stood in front of her facing Damien who walked towards us.

"Getting a little worried Soren?" He asked mocking me.

"Alice stay back, your aura is completely depleted." I said and she fell to the ground panting, "Alice-" Before I could turn to her I felt something against my neck and looked to see Damien right next to me.

"Don't turn away from your enemy Soren." With that he punched me in the gut and I fell to the floor and saw a black barrier dissipate from my hand down my arm, "Now it's time to finish this up." He approached Alice and pulled her up by her hair.

"Don't…you dare…touch her!" I said getting up and pointing my blade at him.

"You can't stop me Soren."

"THE HELL I CAN'T!" Dashing forward I took a swing and he morphed out of the way and…my blade slashed along Alice's legs causing a spray of blood to hit me.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed in pain as Damien dropped her and I collapsed to the floor my body going limp.

"Thanks for the help." Damien said laughing as he walked into a portal. All I could hear was Alice crying in pain followed by her softly sobbing; as I lied there in disbelief I heard the Ruby and the others approaching but all I could hear was Alice crying until everything went black as I passed out.


	15. Chapter 15 (Bonds)

I sat in Port's class watching the clock tick by as Mr. Port droned on about his past exploits and victories of the past…he never goes over the sticky parts, the points in history he regrets…the mistakes he makes and the moments of doubt. It's been about a week since…that day and it had gone to going from class to class and then back to my room with Gareth and Lily…Alice…is currently in the infirmary…she can't walk…and it's my fault.

"Soren?" I looked up to see Ruby standing there, "Class is over."

"Oh…thanks." I replied standing up, "I'll see you at the next class then."

"Soren." She grabbed my shoulder stopping me, "It's been two weeks…you've been anti-social and quiet since then and I know you and Blake are similar…but you aren't normally this quiet."

"Oh…sorry. I'll try to…" Droning off I began to walk away and turned to see Weiss on the other side.

"Soren, I know you feel bad but…you have to cheer up." Cheer up?

"Yeah…I'll try." Passing by her I headed out the door to see Gareth and Lily standing there waiting for me, "…Hey."

"Yo." Gareth said.

"H-Hey." Lily said. I began to move past them on my way to Goodwitch's class, "S-Soren!" I turned around at Lily who had a worried look on her face, "Y-You should go see Alice during your free period." …

"No thanks." I replied; passing by them I headed for combat practice and walked through the courtyard seeing different people heading different ways, some were on break and taking while others were speeding to class…they all had a smile on their face though…and it made my heart hurt.

"Who will be our first fighters?" Goodwitch asked as various people raised their hands; I looked down at my lap not wanting to do anything really, as far as I cared dust could form around me until I was invisible, "Soren." I looked up and then down at Goodwitch, "You've been docile these past few days, I would like you to participate in this first match."

"Okay." I said standing up and heading to the arena; I stood there silently as she looked around the room for my opponent.

"Would anybody care to take on Soren Thain?" People began to chatter and eve some were playing rock-paper-scissors and others chuckled and giggled; guess they didn't want to fight me…whatever, "Very well Miss Schnee." Weiss? I looked to see Weiss was the only one to raise her hand and hopped down into the ring, "Please go grab you weapons and we will begin the match." Nodding I headed into the locker room and Weiss followed behind; as we walked all I could hear was Weiss's high heels clacking against the floor, when we came to the locker room I moved over to the locker and entered my combination pulling out my sword and guns.

"You ready?" Weiss asked standing over me as I strapped on my equipment, "…You know, Alice has been asking for you." …, "You should visit her…you're the only person who hasn't."

"…No thanks." I replied walking away.

"Soren…it's not your fault."! I turned around and looked her in the eye.

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"YES…it is."

"No it isn't"

"YES IT IS!" I yelled and she backed up, "I made her unable to move! That is her worst nightmare! Because of my recklessness she ended up back in a hospital bed; you want to tell me I didn't do that!? Who's sword wounds made her legs bleed, was it yours, Damien's? NO! It was mine! So don't tell me I didn't cause this! You know what? I'm going." Dropping my weapons I walked to the exit to the locker room.

"Soren!"

"Weiss…I can't look at you right now…I just can't." Pushing the doors open I headed for the entrance of the school and towards Vale.

Alice

"Soaring Ninja Wins!"

"Hah!" I cheered finally beating the final boss of Kung-Fu Ninja Slayer Ultimate Death Battle Two; I don't see why Ruby lent me this when the first one was so much better, combat was stable, visuals were clean and characters were well rounded…the visuals were better in this one but it seemed to be at the cost of the combat…sequels never live up to the original anyway. Setting my scroll down I sat back taking a few minutes to breath; I pulled my covers off and looked at the bandages on my ankles, the wounds were healed and I was on my last day here so know I was just killing time while I healed. Everyone came by to see me and help me get better; Ruby brought me warm milk while Weiss brought me chilled ice for my wound, Pyrrha and Blake brought me books to read while Ren and Nora brought pancakes and syrup…well…pancakes and an empty syrup bottle. Jaune and Yang played a few games with me while Gareth and Lily were visiting every chance they got…the only one who didn't show up was…Soren. I looked over to see Gareth and Lily opening the door to my room and coming in with Gareth holding arms full of jello and Lily holding another book from the library.

"Hey Alice, I brought jello!" Gareth said dumping the containers and a spoon onto the bed.

"And I brought A Tale of Two Kingdoms." Lily said holding out the book and I thought for a moment.

"Similar to A Tale of Two Cities?" I asked and she looked away embarrassed.

"Almost exactly yes." I chuckled at her embarrassment and picked up one of the jello containers and the spoon; I don't like that he raids the infirmary fridge but at a point you stop caring…my point was when Ruby, Yang and Nora followed his examples.

"So…where is everyone else?" I asked enjoying the cherry jello.

"Well…Team JNPR is training for the tournament, Blake is studying in the library and Ruby, Weiss and Yang are preparing for the dance Sunday night."

"Aren't you going to be able to leave the infirmary tomorrow?" Gareth asked and I nodded.

"You should come with us to the dance!" Lily said grabbing my hand suddenly with a sparkle in her eye, "We can pick out dresses together!"

"First dance?" I asked and she giggled.

"Y-Yeah…it's kind of exciting."

"Well then sure, it's going to be a bit quick because we'll only have Saturday to go dress shopping."

"Yeah you girls really waste time." Gareth said chuckling at his joke.

"We like to look good for our dates!" I retorted defensively.

"So who are you two going to ask then?"

"Hmm…I-I'll keep that to myself." Lily replied coyly…I didn't think she could be coy.

"…So how is Soren doing?" I asked and their expressions became sullen…guess I got my answer.

"He's been…anti-social since that night with Damien." Gareth answered.

"…It's been two weeks…how can he still be so distressed?" I gripped my sheets and gave a sigh, "He's not normally like this."

"Yeah…but we know Soren…he's very caring." Lily said.

"Then why hasn't he visited me?"

"Remember, his blow ended up putting you here…because we lost to Damien." I saw Gareth grip his fists as he said that, "…he's probably too ashamed to look at you." Gareth eluded making me grip the sheets tighter.

"Idiot! He knows I won't hold it against him, it was Damien's fault."

"…T-That's what makes it so much worse for him." Lily said making me turn to her, "He knows how much you trust him and how loyal you are…he never wanted to hurt you."

"…Idiot…I just want to see him…tell him it's not his fault."

"That…might not be good right now." I looked at the door to see Weiss standing there holding Soren's Twin Soul and pistols.

"Weiss? What are you doing with those?" I pointed to his weaponry in her hands.

"…I tried talking to him but he got angry and stormed off…he dropped these in front of me on his way out." She handed the weapons to me and I looked at the sheath to see small traces of dust.

"He hasn't been using this much I see." I drew the blade and was surprised to see a red splattered stain on the edge of the blades, "…He hasn't used it since it sliced me." He was really distressed about this…damn it…

"Alice are you okay?" Weiss asked, "You're crying." I touched my hand to my cheek to see she was right.

"I…I'm glad to know he cares so much that it hurt him like this…but I don't want to see him this hurt. I haven't seen him in two weeks and just from what I've heard it sounds like he's completely broken…like when he found out he killed his sister." Both Lily and Gareth gave a look of pain, "…I caused this…didn't I?" Suddenly Lily stood up and walked out of the room with a look on her face I've never seen before…anger…and sympathy?

"That was…terrifying." Gareth said looking at the door in shock, "I didn't think she could get angry."

"Where do you think she's going?" Weiss asked and we both shrugged.

Soren

I tossed a pebble into the waves crashing against the docks and watched it immediately sink; I was never good at this…but it's better than going back to Beacon right now, grabbing another rock I tossed it and heard it sink immediately; I can't see any of them right now. As I reached for another rock I looked to see a pebble skip six times before sinking and looked over to see Lily standing there; she was holding a book in her hand and gave me her sweet smile.

"Hey Soren."

"…Hey." She sat down grabbing another pebble and skipping it across the water; grabbing another I tossed it and watched as it sunk.

"It's all about flicking the stone with your wrist." Grabbing another rock I reeled back and flicked it with my arm whipping forward, the stone skipped across the water three times before sinking, "See, all in the wrist."

"…What do you want Lily?" I asked and it went silent, "You're not stupid…you know I wanted to be alone…so what do you want?"

"…Go see Alice." Not again.

"No…thanks though." As I began to walk away she grabbed my jacket.

"That wasn't a request." She said in a serious tone to my surprise, "You NEED to see Alice."

"…I can't look at her."

"Why?"

"…I hurt her…I hurt Alice…how can I just see her like nothing's wrong...hurting Alice…hurting anyone of you…HOW CAN I JUST TREAT IT LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!"

"So you're going to abandon her?"

"…It's better than hurting her further…she doesn't need me…none of you do."

"DON'T TREAT US LIKE WE'RE DEAD!" Lily screamed making step back, "Soren…we're your friends…it's not always going to be perfect…but we can't abandon each other. Yes, you've made a mistake…but it isn't the end…you have a chance to make things right."

"…"

"Look at this." She opened the book she was holding and handed it to me, "It's everything we've been through, every moment of doubt…every moment of strife…and every moment we came over it. Through all of it we've become a team…we promised we would always fight together…we would share our pain together…we would never forget each other. Even if you left and never came back we would go looking for you if it took the rest of our lives…we would never forget you…we would miss you…even Gareth would lose his cheer." She suddenly leaned in pulling me into a tight hug, "We've all made mistakes…and we've learned to look past them for each other…that's why we're so strong now. So please…don't abandon us…we'll look past this mistake…and become stronger so it never happens again."

"Lily…I can't just look past this. I want to but…I hurt someone I care about."

"…I know…that's why you have to confront it…if you can't look past it then face it head on…I lost that chance but…I won't let it happen to someone I care about." She shook slightly and I could hear her sob softly…I returned the hug and felt her trembling stop slowly, "Please…none of us want you gone…go see Alice."

"…Okay…thanks Lily." Pulling away she wiped the tears from her face and gave me a smile which I returned, "…You know, I never expected you to get so intense like that…it's kind of terrifying to see."

"R-Really? I-I'm sorry." I rubbed the top of her head affectionately chuckling.

"I'll just have to make sure never to piss you off again…any reason you got so passionate?"

"No reason really…it's what any of us would have done." She wasn't wrong there; Gareth would have kicked my butt for being so depressed about this and Alice would have hit me and lectured for an hour…Alice.

"I've got to go Lily, somewhere to be." Before I took off she tugged at my collar; why do they always go for the collar!?

"Oh…um…well…talk to her about the dance."

"Dance?" Suddenly she started pushing me forward.

"N-Now go, you've got an apology to make." I chuckled as she tried to push me and dashed off.

"See ya later Lily!" I replied feeling a smile on my face for the first time in two weeks.

Gareth

"Come on Cardin!" I yelled baiting Cardin who looked exhausted from our previous rounds before; he couldn't be tired already, we've only gone five rounds so far, was this all he had?

"Dude…I can't…keep going." Cardin replied panting heavily, "I know you're full of energy but how are you not exhausted after that?" He was wrong; I felt exhausted but I couldn't very well give up just yet…I need to become stronger…strong enough to beat Damien, Jarek, Sukia, Denys, Penny and even Owen…that's why I need to push myself!

"I can't stop! Not until I've become stronger!" Brandishing my Earth Breaker I felt the weight start to make my hands tremble; come on body, you can handle a sixth round! Before the fight started Cardin collapsed to the ground exhausted, "Fine…we'll stop here…thanks for your help Cardin." He gave a thumbs up to me; good guy…most of the time.

"Gareth?" I turned around to see Lily standing there, "What are you doing?"

"Hey…Lily…you doing well?" I asked taking a deep breath feeling my exhaustion catch up to me and he nodded with a confused look on her face, "Good…that's good."

"Gareth, I know you like to spar but…it looks like you just went three rounds with Mike Tyson."

"Five rounds with Cardin."

"Oh…w-what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just want to get strong enough to beat Damien the next time we see him."

"…How long have you been doing this?"

"Ever since we lost to him. With Cardin's help I've been sparring and getting better…I think."

"Cardin's helping you?"

"Yeah he's my friend…why?" There was a moment of silence and Lily sighed to my confusion.

"So…why are you so torn from our loss?"

"You know I don't like to lose."

"No, that's not true," Lily began, "You've lost to Soren, Alice…even me and you never got this worked up." I looked down at my hand to see it trembling and quickly gripped it, "It's…just Damien, I don't know why but it riles me up whenever I see him…and fights just send me over the edge."

"…Is it because he reminds you of yourself?" I looked at Lily in surprise and she squirmed for a minute nervously, "A-All I mean is that…you and Damien seem similar in how you perceive adversity."

"What do you mean?"

"You see every fight as a chance to get stronger…r-right?" I nodded and she took a deep breath, "W-Well Damien sees every victory as proof that he's stronger…there are a lot of similarities to be found…you also treat loss the same. You both try to push yourself until you know you're stronger."

"…You might be too perceptive." I said.

"S-Sorry."

"It's okay." I said chuckling, "…Maybe that's why I hate him…he reminds me of how I was."

"Was?"

"Well…mostly his mentality…he's entirely single minded…that look in his eyes tell me that much. He doesn't care about anything but power…just like I cared about nothing but being a hero."

"A-And now?"

"I want to be strong enough to protect you guys."

"I-I guess that's fine…but would you mind if I helped you?" I looked over surprised and she looked away, "I-I want to protect you and the others to…so let's get stronger together."…Lily.

"Sure, let's do this!" I said feeling pumped and she nodded with a confident look and a smile.

"Right!"

"Hey, when did you know something was wrong?"

"W-Well I fist picked up on it in the room with Alice earlier…I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks…you know…maybe we should have Soren and Alice join us in getting stronger."

"You think?"

"We fight together right?" Lily gave me a nod and we both headed for the infirmary…hopefully Soren would be up for it.

Soren

I stood outside Alice's room and I felt a sense of deja-vu standing there; it was like we were back home and I was visiting her…but slightly different, I turned the knob and opened it to see Alice sitting over her bed in a hospital smock. She looked up at me in surprise and I stood there for a minute in silence; I had no idea how to start, as I looked at her she stretched out her hand to me with a smile.

"Mind helping me up?" She said it without a hint of hesitation or fear in her voice and I felt my own tension and fear slowly dissipate; I grabbed her hand and pulled her up on her feet, "Thanks Soren…idiot!" She hit me on the head and gave me her usual scowl when I screwed up, "That's for not visiting this entire time…and this-" she hit me again, "-is for what your about to say!"

"Ow…sorry…for everything." I said rubbing the spot she hit and she sighed pulling me into a hug.

"Idiot…you don't need to apologize for that…I know you would never hurt me on purpose."

"That's why it was hard to face you…I'm so sorry."

"Soren…I know it hurt to see me…but it hurt me even more that you didn't visit me until now."

"…I'm sorry." She hit me again still hugging me.

"Stop apologizing…what's done is done…just promise me that you won't do this again; I'm going to stay with you no matter what…because I trust you more than anyone…and that won't change no matter what people tell me."

"Thank you Alice." I said pulling her in tighter.

"Only thanks for her?" We both looked to see Gareth, Lily and everyone else at the doorway.

"No, I owe all of you thanks…for putting up with me for two weeks."

"You weren't too bad." Yang said, "Compared to Blake you were mild." Blake rolled her eyes at this comment and I heard Ruby snickering at me.

"Something funny?"

"We interrupt something?" She asked pointing and I felt Alice violently push me away and send me crashing into the tray behind.

"…ow…"

"Well it's good to see everything is working out for the best now." Pyrrha said and Ren nodded agreeing.

"Yeah, now we can focus on the dance tomorrow." Weiss said with a small amount of cheer in her voice, "Come girls let us pick out dresses for tomorrow." All the girls began to walk away except for Alice and Lily while the men followed to; I'm guessing, get some rest for tomorrow.

"So before we all head off I have to ask, what's our plan going forward?" Gareth asked and I thought for a moment before answering.

"We need to figure out our semblance." I said.

"Semblance? Why?" Alice asked.

"Ozpin said that every traveler on the record never used a semblance…I have a feeling that it's connected with the ability to travel worlds…even if it isn't we can still become stronger by figuring it out. Damien was more powerful than any other encounter with him and that means the others have also become stronger. If we want to survive another attack then we have to become even stronger than we are now!"

"I love the way your brain works man!" Gareth yelled sounding excited, "Let's all work together to become even stronger than we are now!"

"I'm ready!" Lily replied confidently.

"I'm not ready to back down yet." Alice said with a confident smirk, "It's going to take more than this to stop me!"

"Alright then." I said, "We're going to have to push to our limits and put everything we can into every sparring match and fight we can…it's not going to be easy." I heard Gareth laugh at that and I looked at him confused.

"When has it ever been easy?" He replied and we all laughed; he wasn't wrong there, "Let's do this!" With our plan now formulated we waited for Alice to get dressed and headed back to Team RWBY's room more confident than before; we weren't about to give up yet!


	16. Chapter 16 (Doubts)

"Hey…get up…come on Soren." I rolled around and opened my eyes to see Weiss was shaking me awake gently; sitting up I rubbed my eyes and looked around to see everyone was up and moving; Gareth and Lily were sitting and talking while Alice was putting her hair in its ponytail and Blake was brushing her hair while Yang and Ruby were sitting and playing games.

"Hey Weiss," I began as I stretched my arms into the air, "what's up?"

"Well tonight's the dance so I thought you would want to get up in time to get ready." I looked over at the clock to see it was about ten in the morning.

"The dance isn't till eight."

"You still shouldn't sleep all day." Lily said as I stood up and started stretching.

"Fair enough." I replied grabbing my clothes and heading for the bathroom, "So what's the plan for today?"

"Well, us girls are going to go dress shopping for Alice, Lily and Ruby." Weiss answered as Ruby gave a groan; I understood how she felt.

"Have fun then." Gareth said.

"And you guys?" Lily asked and I felt a moment of tension; please don't answer Gareth.

"Nothing, just sit around." Damn it.

"Then you guys are coming with us." Alice said and I sighed, "Yeah, I know you two don't have suites, you hitched your bets on Gareth keeping his mouth shut so you were screwed."

"Have you guys ever been to a dance?" Yang asked.

"No, never had the chance." Alice said.

"Nah, didn't seem like fun." Gareth answered.

"I n-never felt comfortable at dances." Lily said.

"What about you Soren?" Ruby asked as I stepped out of the bathroom.

"Yeah but I always went solo and I sucked at dancing." I answered wiping the dust off my jacket, "Ironic considering I went to most of them."

"So you've never had a date?" Gareth asked.

"To a dance? No. An actual date? Also no."

"That seems strange." Lily said, "Why did you head to dances then?"

"I enjoyed spending time with friends. I went for social interactions."

"Same." Yang added, "What about the rest of you?"

"I'm going solo, too much to do to focus on boys." Weiss answered.

"I'm going with Sun." Blake answered nonchalantly.

"Stag." Gareth answered.

"I-I don't have a date." Lily said.

"I'm sure if you ask someone they'll be glad to go with you." I said moving over to Alice, "What about you?"

"Hm…haven't found anyone yet. Been kind of tough with being in the hospital-" Before I could even speak she covered my mouth, "and don't even think of apologizing! Now let's get moving, we can get to the stores before anyone else if we leave now."

"Right!" Weiss said as everyone got up.

"Do I have to go?" Ruby asked pouting, "I don't wanna!"

"Of course you do! As a lady you have to look nice at a dance." Ruby muttered and stood up dragging her feet as she followed behind Weiss.

"Come on you two." Alice said grabbing me by the collar, "We'll find you tuxes so don't you worry."

"Yay…" Gareth and I said sounding unenthused.

"Maybe in red?" Alice contemplated looking through a rack of dresses, "Blue would also look good…I could also do purple…maybe not purple."

"This is torture." Gareth said giving a long sigh, "Why are we here?"

"Because you sold us down the river." I answered pulling out my scroll, "Now we have to sit through two hours of Lily and Alice picking dresses and Yang dragged Ruby to another store." It was interesting to see Ruby so depressed about dress shopping…I understand her pain though.

"Well…Alice at least, Lily picked out a white dress in a few seconds."

"It looks good on her too." I added looking over at Lily who was holding her dress and helping Alice along with Weiss.

"I think you should go with a black color." Weiss offered.

"I don't know, my hair is black…and it feels like that would be too much."

"…Why not green?" I offered, "It's your favorite color right? Wouldn't it make sense to go with your favorite color?" Alice had a look of deep thought before looking at the rack and grabbing a few green dresses and moving into the changing room; when she came back out she had one dress in her hand and a smile on her face.

"I'll take this one."

"Alright then let's g-" I felt a tug at my shirt and began coughing and hacking.

"You thought you could get away that easily…Weiss!" Suddenly I saw her rapier fly past my face and heard Gareth yell in surprise; I looked to see the sword had pierced his shirt pinning him against the wall near the door.

"Damn it."

"Traitor!" I yelled and he chuckled as I was dragged to another end of the store; setting me down on a stool Alice and Weiss began to hold different suites up to me before shaking their heads while Lily did the same for Gareth who was stuck against the wall.

"Hmm…what do you think of a sweater vest?" Weiss asked Alice as they picked various pieces of clothing off of the racks and looking them over.

"It looks good," Alice started, "but I think we need something classier."

"Oh! How about a long tailored coat?"

"Hold it!" I interjected, "I'd rather not look like a butler!"

"Yeah, let the grownups decide on this Soren." Alice said brushing me off; this is a special kind of male hell isn't it?

"Alright we're done." Alice said and I gave a long sigh of relief; after four hours of clothing after clothing piece Alice and Weiss finally finished dressing me up like a doll and I had a perfect suit for the party…and it didn't look to bad either; seems like Weiss's high class looks and Alice's understanding of my style made me look good, "Now that our clothes are picked out it's time to get ready." I looked at my scroll to see it was four in the afternoon.

"I'm not sitting through make-up." I said backing away from Alice.

"Duh, that would be weird. No boys allowed so…shoo." She shooed Gareth and I away as she, Weiss and Lily walked away.

"So what now?" Gareth asked and I thought for a moment; Alice took my suit with her so I was stuck waiting until she and the girls finished preparing which means I had until…five minutes before the dance.

"…I'm not entirely sure…maybe we could hit the arcade…or…" As I thought I looked to see Lily walking on the other side of the street; what in the- she was just with Alice and Weiss…I watched them leave in the opposite direction…or maybe that's…, "Gareth I'll meet up with you later, I've got something to take care of."

"Alright, I'm gonna hit the arcade actually, maybe I can win a corsage." Gareth replied walking away; weird if an arcade did have a corsage as a prize. I moved towards the Lily lookalike as she walked towards the pier; the streets were packed making it a bit hard to follow but she didn't seem to be in a hurry to be anywhere making it easier to catch up. As I came closer I reached my hand out and she grabbed it and dragged me into the nearby alley; she pushed me against the wall and pointed a small knife at me.

"What do you want creep!?" She said scowling and in an instant her expression changed to surprise, "Soren!?"

"Hey Sukia." I said in between haggard breaths as she dropped me to the ground, "How have you been?"

Alice

"Hey Lily?" Weiss started as we all got dressed.

"What's up Weiss?" Lily asked as she slipped on her strapless dress.

"What's your diet?"

"Oh, w-well mostly salads and soup with tea."

"Really?" I asked surprised trying to zip up the back of my dress; geez, you think someone would fix this dilemma.

"I-I'm kind of a bird when it comes to appetite. I don't eat much."

"Well that explains one thing."…Got it!

"Alright then…how is your chest so…big?"

"W-W-What!?" Lily stuttered turning red; that was something I wasn't expecting.

"I mean…do you drink milk? I've tried that but it doesn't work." Weiss said trailing off, "So what's your secret?"

"I-I-I don't know." Lily replied.

"But there has to be some secret!" Weiss yelled making Lily jump slightly.

"Nope." Yang replied stepping out of the bathroom, "Just naturally gifted." Yang pushed her chest forward taunting Weiss and making her grumble as she pulled out her make-up kit; naturally gifted huh…I'm screwed then…damn it!

"Hey Yang I have a question." I started moving to the bathroom mirror, "You could have any boy in the school and it seems like you weren't too busy…so why are you going solo?"

"I owe somebody else a dance, can't exactly go with somebody when I have somone waiting for me." She replied as I tried figuring out what to do with my hair; I couldn't do a ponytail like usual…maybe pigtails…no, twintails…ugh no.

"Hm, noble…so who is it?"

"Blake."

"Oh…didn't think you swung that way." She laughed uproariously at what I said.

"Not exactly, funny though. What about you guys?"

"Huh?" Lily asked not paying attention.

"Who are you two going to ask?"

"Nobody." I replied pulling my hair into a side tail…no, it was hard to work with long hair…maybe I could leave it down…

"I-I'm not sure." Lily replied.

"You sure you have nobody to ask?" Yang asked with a playful tone to her voice.

"What are you implying?" I asked grabbing a brush.

"What about Gareth?" I scoffed at her suggestion and I heard Lily stutter slightly.

"W-W-Well m-m-maybe…I-I wouldn't mind…" Lily responded getting quieter.

"Alright well that's covered for Lily…now Alice? What about you?"

"Try your worst Yang. I'm unshakable." 20,21,22,23.

"Hmm…Ren?"

"Meh." 27,28,29,30.

"Jaune?"

"HAH…sorry but…no." 34,35,36,37.

"Understandable." Weiss replied.

"Ice queens." Ruby said chuckling.

"Alright…Neptune?"

"Ah…Neptune…but no." 49,50,51,52.

"Why not?"

"Just…crushes never end well…you usually end crushed."

"True." Weiss said with a longing sigh…weird. 53,54,55,56.

"Cardin?"

"You serious? Really?"

"No, just thought it would be funny."

"Right answer." 64, 65, 66, 67.

"How about that guy…Mercury."

"Mercury? Seems kind of cocky." 78,79,80,81.

"You know what they say though, cocky in attitude, cocky in other areas." Gross.

"Both the innuendo and the base understanding is disturbing and not worth it." I replied. 90,91,92,93.

"Hmm…"

"Already out?" 96,97,98,99.

"How about Soren?" 'Clack!' I looked to see I had dropped the brush onto the bathroom floor, "There's a nerve!" Damn it, every time, "Weiss you dropped your make-up."

"Hmm." Weiss grunted.

"So Soren?"

"We're you leading up to him all along?" I asked and she laughed.

"Yeah." Figures…

Soren

"One milk coffee for me and whatever she's having." I pointed to Sukia behind me who gave a small look of surprise; we were currently in a cafe near the pier, I decided it would probably easier to talk if we had something to drink while we did it.

"Do you have tea?" Sukia asked and they nodded, "I'll take some green tea then please." I was handed a tall cup of coffee and a small cup of tea.

"Thank you." I said as we walked outside and took a seat at one of the tables covered by an umbrella, taking a sip I enjoyed the sweet milk flavor and cringed slightly at the bitter after taste; Sukia took a quiet sip and sighed contently, "You know I never would have pegged you for a tea person."

"When you live in someone's body for as long as I did you start to pick up that persons taste. My favorite meal is meat but thanks to Lily I order a salad on the side now." I chuckled and she took another sip glaring at me, "Well I never thought you would drink coffee. I expected milk but not coffee along with it."

"Blame Alice." I answered, "Whenever we went out we picked up coffee at Starbucks…the taste eventually grew on me…I kind of enjoy the bitter after taste." I took another drink, "Mmm! Little hot." She giggled at me and I set the cup down, "So any reason you didn't kill me?" She stopped drinking suddenly and set her cup down, "Kind of strange considering we're enemies."

"…I was ordered to be the next one to attack you guys." She answered.

"…So?"

"So…I don't know." She responded with a sigh; she seemed more hesitant than any other time I've met with her, "Maybe it's because I was in Lily for so long but it feels…weird to face you guys."

"…Do you know why?" I asked and she looked up surprised, "Maybe not but…would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"Keep it within reason." She said taking a sip.

"Okay…why are you trying so hard to bring someone back?"

"…She means a lot to us. I'm sure you know…you saw the video didn't you?"

"So you know about that?"

"The entire area is recorded; you couldn't come up to the gate without being seen."

"…She seemed like a really caring girl."

"She was…when I first met her she was willing to help me…it meant a lot to me..." She began to rub her cup absentmindedly, "she was a sweet, caring, beautiful woman…she was the best."…

"You loved her…didn't you?" She nodded sadly.

"Unfortunately she loved Owen…but I was happy for her…all I wanted was for her to be happy…she never got that chance though." Sukia said with a sigh, "That's why we want to bring her back; she means so much to us."

"Yeah…I know people like that." Gareth, Lily and Alice.

"Here's my question, why are you trying to stop us? What problem could you possibly have with us!?" She began to get worked up, "You have no reason to bother us! We'll leave you and your friends alone if you just stop trying to get in our way." She was bargaining with me?

"Sukia-" I finished my coffee and took a deep sigh standing up, "Travelers are picked out of their copies; while there are multiple versions of you they only exist in one world, your home world. Do you know what that means?"

"…"

"It means you can't find her again…and I have proof. When I met the sage in the world of Final Fantasy; that sage told me it had connections to every possible reality he's existed in; the one thing he never saw was multiple versions of travelers…there was only ever one version of each traveler. Our choices can never be undone; but Owen is determined." I took a deep breath, "He's going to reset the world to ZERO. You, me, him, everyone will be taken out and existence will reset."

"…I know."

"You know? YOU KNOW!?" I slammed my hand on the table, "You're willing to send everything back to nothing just to get her back!?"

"YOU WOULD DO THE SAME!" She screamed back, "Look me in the eye and tell me that if you lost Alice, Gareth or Lily that you wouldn't try to reset the world!" I looked away as she asked that, "That's what I thought."

"You're right, I might have been pushed to the point Owen is at…but that's why I've got to stop him!" I retorted, "I've seen others who have fought and worked even harder than me and everybody has a purpose…something they want to accomplish. If I were to just let Owen destroy everything then I would be saying that everything those I've met have suffered, everything they fought for was for nothing…I couldn't live with myself if that happened…that's why…that's why I'm going to protect everything from Owen!"

"AND WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO!?" Sukia screamed her eyes beginning to well up, "She was our friend…how do you go on when you lose someone important?" She began crying and I felt a pain in my chest…I've felt like that...but I know what to do know; I put my hand on her shoulder and she looked up at me.

"Sukia…come with me to the dance at Beacon tonight."

"W-What?" I wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I can answer your question but I need you to come with me to the dance…please." She looked away in sadness, "You decided to talk to me instead of just attack so you obviously don't want to fight…so how about we dance instead."

"…O-Okay, I'll m-meet you there." She said as she got up and walked away; I took a deep breath feeling my pulse race like I was just in an intense battle…I'm probably going to die young with all this excitement.

"This is going to be an interesting night." Gareth said as we stood outside the dance hall; I told the other three about Sukia and they all had a different reaction. Gareth was surprised but still laughed; I'm positive he only has a problem with Damien; Lily was pretty surprised by the whole thing and seemed more torn with the idea of seeing her again than anything else. Alice was the most…calm about the whole thing actually; I mean she still hit me but she understood why I invited her to the dance…how she did that through the bathroom and still have the same force behind it is amazing.

"Look we can't ask any questions about the others okay?" I said to Gareth and he nodded.

"Don't worry. It's a dance, keeping things light and fun right?"

"Exactly."

"W-Well I'm ready." Lily said; she was wearing a white dress that went down to her ankles and her hair was up in a small bun; she was wearing contacts for tonight so her eyes were bright and full, she looked nice.

"Well if it's going to be fun tonight then let's get in there." I looked over hearing Alice's voice; she was wearing a green dress being held up by her right shoulder and flowed down to her feet where she was wearing heels and her hair flowed down her back nicely, her cheeks were vibrant and bright and she had a gentle smile on her face as she looked at me; she looked…beautiful, "Y-Your staring Soren."

"O-Oh! S-Sorry Alice." I said feeling my cheeks heat up intensely, "Y-You look really beautiful." I said feeling the words just come out naturally and unnaturally all at once.

"Th-Thanks…y-you look nice too." She replied looking down and twisting her leg shyly…my heart was beating really fast right now.

"You ready to head in Lily?" Gareth asked pulling me from my trance; I looked over to see Lily nod and both of them head into the ballroom leaving me and Alice alone…this was awkward.

"S-So you're okay with me inviting Sukia, our enemy?" I asked and Alice punched me in the arm.

"I have to admit that I was a bit surprised but I think I know why you wanted to help her." Alice said, "It's like what you saw in Lily right?"

"Not so much but…I knew that she didn't want a fight…she has doubts."

"She did have coffee with you." Alice said thinking, "What do you want to prove to her by bringing her here…on second thought…I think I know."

"You know me too well." We laughed and I heard heels against stone and looked to see Sukia approaching; she was wearing a black dress that clung to her figure and went down to her feet; her hair went down her back and also covered her right eye playfully; she had an unsure look on her face as she approached us and Alice gave me a nod heading into the ball room.

"…So I'm guessing they know?" She asked and I nodded, she gave a small giggle, "I figured…you guys are really close."

"Of course…they're my best friends." I answered as I led her into the ballroom, "That's another reason I'm fighting so hard." Yang let us pass by and gave me a wink making me chuckle.

"Hey Soren." Ruby said sitting near the punch bowl, "Who's that?"

"This is my friend Sukia." I replied pushing Sukia forward who waved awkwardly.

"H-Hi." She said.

"Hello. Punch?" Ruby offered her a cup and Sukia took a sip as Ruby smiled making Sukia smile back, "So where are you from?"

"She's from 'out of' the kingdom."

"Oooohhhh…gotcha." Ruby said winking at me making me chuckle, "It's nice to meet you Sukia."

"Nice to meet you too. What's your name?" Sukia asked.

"Ruby Rose, do you use a weapon?"

"Yeah, like Lily I prefer a scythe." Ruby's eyes lit up hearing this.

"Really!? What can it do!? Does it have any cool mods!? How do you hold it!?" Ruby asked over excitedly making Sukia back up in surprise, "Sorry, I'm kind of a weapon nut."

"It's okay." Sukia said giggling, "I can understand to a point. So what can your weapon do?"

"Oooohhh! Where do I start!?"

"I'll leave you two to talk." I said grabbing some punch and walking away…hmm, grape punch. I walked around seeing people enjoying themselves with Ren and Nora sitting and enjoying the company around them. Yang was still at the front while Blake was talking and having fun with Sun and Neptune; Jaune and Pyrrha were strangely missing from the party and Weiss was…messing with a single flower, walking over I tapped her on the shoulder making her jump slightly.

"Oh, Soren. How are you?" She asked taking a deep breath, "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I was wondering why you were obsessing over a single flower…although I think you might be trying to distract yourself." I answered grabbing the flower and breaking the stem where it was bent, "So what's wrong?" I asked placing the flower in my breast pocket.

"…I asked Neptune to the dance and he said no…it's weird to be rejected outright like that."

"Never happened before?"

"No."

"Well I guess you know how Jaune feels then." I said taking another swig of punch.

"Oh please, he doesn't care about me." Weiss scoffed.

"You sure? From what I can tell, he's just trying to get to know you better."

"Men have only cared about the perks of my last name, I'm sure Jaune is no different."

"Really? Why did you give me a chance then?"

"You had no memory, you got to know me from scratch and that's how you saw the real me."

"Really?"

"What? What does that mean?"

"If anything I would say you let me get to know the real you…because you wanted to." She gave me a surprised look and I handed her my punch, "For me, you found a reason to open that door…but why keep it closed in the first place. If you don't give others a chance then you'll never learn to trust those around you fully, putting up a barrier is no way to start…that's a lesson I can guarantee will enrich your life forever...I'm sure even Neptune could use that lesson."

"Neptune? Why him?"

"Come on, he can't be that cool without effort." She thought for a moment before giggling.

"I suppose not." I looked over to see Sukia talking with Yang and Blake at the front.

"Think about what I said." With that I moved over to Sukia who seemed to be in a heavy talk with Yang and Blake.

"-and that's why first dates are a magnet for jerks who are just looking to have a good time." Sukia said finishing up an explanation I most likely didn't want to know the beginning to, "Huh? Hey Soren."

"Hey."

"How's the dance been?" Yang asked and I shrugged.

"More counseling then dancing so far." I answered, "Fine by me though, can't dance anyway."

"You can't dance?" Sukia asked surprised, "Can you move to the rhythm of music?"

"Yeah."

"Then dancing is easy."

"Let's come back to that point later. I see you guys met Sukia."

"Yeah, she's pretty interesting. She's been on so many dates she's got the scopes on every type of guy there is." Being a succubus that's not very surprising…and slightly more expected than I'd like to admit.

"So you have a skill like that?" I said nudging her, "Alright then…let's play determining specs."

"Determining…what?" Sukia asked confused.

"I play this game with Gareth and Lily all the time. I point and they give me a run-down of what type of person they are. Hmmm…that guy!" I said pointing to Ren who was sitting at one of the tables.

"…Quiet, more comfortable around close friends and relatives, probably more elegant than powerful and knows to give a woman her space…looks slightly dense in certain areas but pretty good all around." Yang and Blake gave a small gasp of amazement and awe.

"You're amazing." I jumped seeing Nora behind me with a mystified look in her eye as she stared at Sukia, "Teach me your ways." We all chuckled at Nora's amazement…even Sukia laughed.

"Alright…her!" I said pointing at Pyrrha.

"…Gentle attitude and an understanding heart, very sweet but has an air of…regality, no…respectability. She stands assured of who she is…and yet…she still holds a certain…uncertainty in her heart…a weakness of pride…and insecurity."

"…Eerily accurate." Blake said.

"She hides it well. Only the densest idiot in the world wouldn't notice her air of respect." Suddenly I heard laughing and looked over to see Jaune approaching Pyrrha…in a dress, "Cue densest idiot."

"You can tell?"

"He's wearing a dress…I don't need insight to know that." We chuckled as Jaune grabbed Pyrrha by the hand and began to dance with her, "It works in his favor though."

"Very true."

"…Can we talk outside Soren?"

"Sure…" I followed Sukia outside and we stopped in front of the huntsman statue.

"…You've made some interesting friends Soren…guess that memory loss only made people like you more."

"I wouldn't say that…memory and events don't denote from who you are. They only shape your personality," I answered, "and you can't forget that…it's stuck inside you." I pointed to where my heart was and then pointed at her heart, "That means you as well."

"Hm, you have a point…but I'm still a bit lost on your point."

"We've all experienced loss Sukia…but lamenting forever won't get you anywhere." She stood silently looking up at the clouded sky, "I'm pretty sure- no, POSTIVE that Alice, Gareth and Lily talked to you while you were here…mind telling me what they said?"

"…Gareth made small chatter…it wasn't anything significant or informative…but I still found myself enjoying it. The light atmosphere and nonchalant behavior he had made it easy to talk to him…he didn't see me as an enemy."

"..."

"Alice…we talked for a bit…again nothing really important but it felt common…she was the last person I expected that from though. She didn't even have this air of worry that I had felt before…like she was talking with a friend."

"…"

"And Lily…she didn't worry for herself…or even for you guys…but I felt it…she was worried about me. ME of all people! Why…why would she be worried for me?"

"…"

"Why are you even giving me a chance!? I'm your enemy!"

"…No, you're not." I answered.

"W-What?"

"You aren't my enemy Sukia…none of you guys are…right now the only one in my sights is Owen. I've learned that every traveler has been through something that hurt them…that includes you, it includes Shifty, the Gemini twins, Penny and Denys and every other traveler under his control."

"…You're going to say that…even after all we've hurt you?"

"We've all hurt someone…the moment we stop hurting them is the most important…isn't that why you're here next to me instead of attacking me…because your worried?"

"…Soren…please stop fighting…I can't stop trying to bring her back…but I don't want to hurt you and your friends anymore."

"…We can't do that."

"…I know." I heard the clatter of wood and looked to see two wooden training swords next to me; looking at Sukia I was surprised to see she was holding a wooden staff, "I'm going to have to show you what you're up against then!"

"…Sukia…" Picking up the wooden swords I looked to see she had moved back about ten feet; I got into position and took a deep breath.

"First person to make contact losses." Focus Soren…focus!

Sukia dashed forward and I moved to block as she thrust at me; as her staff hit my blades I felt the force of the blow push me back a few feet…almost two meters from the feeling of it; when I came to a halt I took the initiative and dashed forward taking a thrust which she backed away from and took another step swinging at her head. She spun her staff quickly knocking the blow back and went for the upward strike; quickly swiping my blade I moved the staff before it made contact and rolled backwards; it was surprising to see she had so much mobility in that clingy dress…wait…did she tear it up to her waist when I wasn't looking!? She dashed forward taking quick jabs making me quickly dodge and back up as she assaulted me; she must be trying to back me into a corner to cut off any dodging, as she went for another jab I swung knocking her staff to the side, now's my chance! I swung making her back up and threw my right blade making her give a moment of shock before she swung down with all her strength pinning the wooden blade to the ground; you're mine! Moving forward I raised my blade to hit her; there was no way she could retaliate in time with how quick my blow was, this battle was mine! As my blade came inches in front of her face it all happened in an instant; it suddenly seemed as though she fazed into thin air and my sword hit nothing but the wind; in that moment I felt someone behind me and turned to see Sukia was diving on me with the staff inches away from my chest. The force of the blow sent me flying back and I skidded against the ground feeling my chest sting slightly.

"Your aura will keep that blow from bruising but that power and speed was real. Everyone you faced before is much stronger then when you faced them before, it won't be easy and you'll be lucky to even touch them." She walked up to me and reached out her hand to me; I grabbed it and helped me on my feet; my suit was now covered in dirt but I wasn't too worried about it, "…Are you sure you want to keep fighting us?"

"I'm not going to give up just because it's getting tough…none of us are!"

"…Then the next time we meet…it won't be as friends…you know that right?" She gave me a deathly serious look and I returned a confident smile.

"I know…but-" I pulled out the white flower from my coat pocket and stuck it into her hair making her give me a surprised look, "-don't forget that despite everything you've been through and everything you've done you were still able to make friends…even if it was just for a day."

"…Goodbye Soren." Sukia walked away slowly as I stood there.

"See ya later Sukia." I said quietly giving a small wave as I walked back to the dance hall.

As I walked back in I wiped off what dirt I could but there were still some stains left to my regret; Lily gave me a worried look while Gareth and Yang wondered where the action was and Weiss and Alice gave me a pissed off look.

"Geez you're hopeless." Alice said bonking me on the head, "…So Sukia left?"

"Yeah." I answered, "But…I know…she just gave me an idea of what we're up against."

"So now we have a measure?" Lily asked and I shook my head.

"No, they'll definitely be getting stronger than that. It was only her technique and basic skills so I have no idea what power she has. We have to stay on our toes."

"True…but not for tonight!" Gareth said as the music started to play, "It's a party, we've got all of tomorrow to become better…so let's have fun tonight!" Suddenly I felt someone grab my arm and looked to see Alice holding me.

"I don't commonly say this but I think Gareth is right."

"And just like that I lose a bet." I said jokingly and she hit me on the head.

"Come on, let's dance." Alice pulled me onto the dance floor and we started slow dancing to the music; even though neither of us knew how to dance we were doing pretty well…at the very least we weren't stepping on each other's toes. I looked around seeing Gareth and Lily slow dancing as well as Blake and Sun did the same; the only people absent from the party seemed to be Ruby and Cinder…strange considering Mercury and Emerald were here, "You okay?" Alice asked.

"Yeah…just looking around." I answered and she pouted.

"Well we're dancing…so keep your eyes on me."

"You got it…partner." We danced for the rest of the party; enjoying the company of our friends and acquaintances and even meeting some new friends; I relished in the calm air and enjoyable atmosphere…after all, it wouldn't be around for very long.


	17. Chapter 17 (Test)

Alice swung at me with a flame blade as I back stepped and thrust forward with a silence wave; Alice spun and clocked me in the jaw with the back of her fist making me reel, as I spun to the ground I quickly used the momentum and swung backwards at Alice making her block my attack and skid back slightly. Taking my chance I rolled backwards onto the ground and stood up a few feet away; she switched to dual katana and I whipped my blade switching to blade staff pulling out my stun pistol with my other hand, I held my blade out horizontally and my pistol out to my right. (Silence) Alice threw wave after wave at me as I moved my staff into position to block the full wave with my silence edge; I watched as Alice slowly got closer and closer I watched her closely while still trying to block her shots. As I blocked the last wave she jumped forward raising both blades up and swinging down with all her strength; I knelt to the ground feeling the impact of her double hit vibrate through my sword. Pushing her off me I dashed forward ready to retaliate but she quickly merged her blades and pulled out her mini-gun pointing it at my chest; sliding my feet forward I fell onto my back quickly as the bullets soared quickly through my field of vision. Pulling my stun pistol forward I pointed it directly at Alice’s gun hand and pulled the trigger; the shot struck her side making her cringe and stiffen from the shot. Quickly switching to longsword mode I took a swing knocking her mini-gun out of her hand as she took a swing at me shaking off the stun round and crossing blades with me. We pushed each other with everything we had trying to gain enough ground to strike with everything we had; if I know Alice she’s trying to push my blade into the air so she can drop and swing her legs sending me to the ground and leave me no room to counter. Taking my other hand off my blade I reached for my blast pistol as she overpowered me and sent me crashing to the ground and pointed her blade directly at my face as I pointed my pistol at hers. What followed was a full minute of the two of us staring at each other with ready gazes, both of us were waiting for the other to make a move, I couldn’t take my eyes off hers in case she took the opportunity and finished me off…we’re stuck in a stalemate then.  
“Bang.” I said making the motion of a shot with my pistol and laughed as she sat down directly on my stomach with all of her weight knocking the wind out of my lungs.  
“If I’m a dead body then you have to deal with my weight on top of you.” She said snickering as I coughed.  
“Got it…please get off me.”   
“Hmm…no.” I spun making her fall to the ground with me on top of her and laughed as she pouted up at me, “Very funny…now get off.”  
“Why should I?” Suddenly I felt her knee collide with my groin and moved off her collapsing to the ground, “Right…women have the upper hand there.”  
“Damn right.” Alice said standing up and dusting herself off; getting up I grabbed Alice’s mini-gun and tossed it to her, “Now your reflexes were pretty solid while your blows and strikes were fast and powerful. Your silence edge was unexpected but useful; shots were a bit off but still effective and you were able to come back from them.”  
“Thanks.” I replied stretching, “Your speed is definitely improving and switching between forms and magic has definitely made you faster; fast thinking is also getting more natural but next time aim for my legs, while mini-guns are fast you use blunt rounds which slow down your shots; since you aimed at my chest I knew if I slid to the ground those bullets would fly right over me.”  
“Geez, you knew the speed of my bullets?”   
“We’ve been doing this for a while now. Are you really surprised?”  
“No, still freaks me out though.”  
“Yo.” I looked behind me to see Gareth and Lily approaching us, “How did the match go?”  
“Pretty good.” I answered and Alice sighed.  
“It ended in a draw.” She said and pointed to me, “All because this guy couldn’t take it seriously.” I chuckled at her comment as Gareth and Lily laughed.  
“You expected me to?” I asked and she rolled her eyes with a smile, “Anyway, how about you two?”  
“I-I learned how to slow down time!” Lily said sounding over excited…with good reason to.  
“Really?” Alice and I asked and she nodded.  
“W-When Gareth lunged at me while I was vulnerable I sharpened my focus and suddenly the world around me slowed down a-and I was able to reel back and position myself to swipe at his chest.”  
“What’s the drawback?” Alice asked; we learned that every one of us had a drawback to our abilities. We already knew that Gareth could enhance traits but it took from the other traits he had and to top it off he could control how much he could increase but what it took from was always the same based on what he increased. Alice could enchant her blade and use elemental magic but she couldn’t use healing magic or enhancement or effect magic and any magic she did without a weapon was parlor trick strength with flames from her blade just becoming lighter style flames. I could use enhancement and effect magic but any other magic was out of the question, while I could stack them over each other the effects of them were cut each time, I could use a speed enhancement and my speed would double but if I were to then add a defense then it would be cut to only being half increase and then power on top of it would make all three effects only a third increase. So far we only knew that Lily could only use healing magic and dangerous precision with her scythe strikes; her skills definitely matched her title of Reaper, being able to decide the lives and deaths of her enemies and allies.  
“T-Time slows to a halt but it still moves…a-and the second I take a step from my position thime goes back to normal.”   
“So it’s a stationary ability.” I said thinking, “And right now it seems to only occur during moments of intense focus…at least from what I can tell.”   
“Well I think it’s cool!” Gareth said patting Lily on the back making her stumble slightly, “Besides, that could be just what we need to beat Damien!”   
“No.” Alice said bluntly, “No matter how prepared you are unless you can slow down his ability to alter his body around our moves then it’s still a pipe dream.”  
“A pipe dream in a hallucination.” I added and she nodded.  
“Well then let’s keep training!” Gareth said confidently, “I’m going up against Alice next!”  
“You sure you want to take on a magic user?” I asked as she played with a small flame on the end of her finger.  
“Hey, if I can make my resistance to magic better then I’m going for it!”   
“You better be ready for a full barrage of different magic elements then. She can switch on a dime.”   
“Perfect! You ready Alice?” Alice stood up and pulled out her blade standing ready.  
“Let’s do this!”

It’s been a few weeks since the night of the dance and our dedication hasn’t wavered; we spent every day sparring and perfecting our skills, from power to speed to defense as well as reflexes we’ve spent every moment we could to become stronger and faster. I was determined not to let Owen or the others have their way and if we were going to be able to beat them then we had to get better, as much as I wanted to believe my quick thinking could get us out of any situation I saw what it could lead to and I wasn’t about to let that happen again. Luckily…or maybe I should have expected it, Alice, Gareth and Lily were right behind me, ready to stand behind me in any situation and it was good to know with how painful it’s been these past weeks. Whether it was from bruised bodies from endurance training, sore muscles from strength training or lungs on the verge of collapsing from speed training it’s been pushing all of us to the point of exhaustion and beyond…but we all stood strong together and continued to train until we were sore…and it showed…where fat usually was there was muscle and where doubt would be in times of push or worry was confidence to stand and continue to fight.  
“Hah!” I swung at Lily as she stepped to the side dodging my blow and I swung my second blade to the side as she held her staff vertically and stopped my blow; she spun her staff quickly disarming me of my right blade and knocked it out of the way as she went for the jab. She passed my side and I heard the grass rustle; looking down I saw she had taken a step forward and felt something push my back; she used her momentary stop in time to extend her scythe and wrap it around my back, clever girl. Lily swung with all her strength and I quickly gripped the scythe as I went flying with it, as she stopped I quickly set my footing and pulled the scythe forward making Lily stumble at which I quickly pulled out my stun pistol and shot her point blank in the chest. She quickly gripped her scythe and stuck it into the ground rising into the air and kicking me in the jaw as she vaulted backwards and stood confidently; quickly rolling to the side I grabbed my other blade and switched to blade staff. She sped forward switching to staff mode and striking quickly as I blocked and dodged feeling small blows knock me in my knees, arms and shoulders when she spun to hit me with her other end; couldn’t deny her speed and acrobatics that’s for sure. Catching her next blow I spun and she backed up surprised, taking the opportunity I jumped forward ready to catch her and in an instant she took a step and suddenly had positioned herself to hit me as I fell towards her; quickly switching to dual blades I moved to block my right side as she swung her scythe at me. As I blocked her scythe I pushed back and rolled to the ground dropping my right blade and pulled out my blast pistol directly making contact with her stomach; I heard a small clack and looked up to see Lily had dropped her scythe and I was now staring down the barrel of her rifle trembling slightly.  
“…Seems you’ve got the hang of that time manipulation down.” I said seeing her eye through the scope of her riffle and she gave a giggle.  
“I can still only make minor changes.”  
“I’d say switching weapons and stance is a pretty substantial change.” I said chuckling as I put away my pistol and she put away her rifle; she collapsed to her knees with an exhausted sigh.  
“Using it three times is draining though.” Didn’t seem easy that’s for sure, “Why didn’t you use your skills?”  
“They’re only helpful to boost me or drain my enemies; I’m trying to make myself better so I’m avoiding using it if I can.” I said gripping my fists, “No use if I lessen my enemy.”  
“I guess…b-but aren’t we supposed to be perfecting our abilities.” Pulling out Twin Soul I gripped it with both hands and focused.  
“Silence!” Swinging I sent out a clear wave and quickly went for another swing, “Strength down!” A dark red wave, “Defense down!” Dark blue, “Speed down!” Dark green, “Poison!” Dark purple, “Paralysis!” Dark Yellow; twirling back I separated my blades and charged up, “Nullify!” Two black waves pushed forward in an X formation; as they dispersed I collapsed backwards feeling my magic drained.  
“Ah! Are you okay Soren!?” Lily said looking worried.  
“Yeah…just a bit tired.” I replied between panting fits, “See though? ...I’ve been practicing them when we aren’t sparring.”  
“Well it’s good to see you aren’t rusty…I guess.”  
“I think…I think I’m done sparring for the day though.” Standing up I stretched as Alice and Gareth approached us.  
“Y-You know the tournament is coming up…maybe we should enter it.” As Lily suggested that I was surprised to hear her suggest that, “U-Up till now we’ve only been sparring against each other…maybe we should try going up against other people.” Going up against other opponents would definitely be a good change of pace; the fights were starting to become formulated and almost always ended in a draw because we always knew how the other would react and fight…but were we ready to take on other people?  
“Sounds interesting.” Gareth said with a hint of excitement in his voice, “We’d have to hold back with our abilities though…sounds like a challenge!”  
“Don’t get so hyped up.” Alice said backing up from him, “Although I am getting a bit tired of stalemates. Would we even be able to register though?”  
“True,” I said, “Technically you guys are from Haven while I’m from Beacon…makes it a bit tough for us to register as a team.”  
“Th-That was the main reason we skipped out of the team missions.” Lily said.  
“We sure didn’t skip out on anything though.” Gareth pointed out making all of us sigh.  
“That grim attack was intense.” I said remembering the long battle with wave after wave of grim coming at us; we had to pull out every skill and magic ability we could just to handle the intense amount of grim…it was a good thing we weren’t fighting on our own or we wouldn’t have survived.  
“I know!” Gareth said suddenly, “Soren could talk to Goodwitch, I’m sure she’ll make an exception.”  
“Why me?” I asked and they all gave me a look that just screamed, ‘really?’   
“She likes you most. She kind of has an issue with all of us.”  
“Only with you and that’s because you almost set her hair on fire.” Gareth chuckled with his cheeks turning red.  
“Just go talk to her.” Alice said, “You’ve known her longest so you have the best chance.”  
“Fine, fine…geez.” Standing up I walked over to the main building; knowing Glynda she’ll probably be with Ozpin in his office so I stepped into the elevator and stood waiting for the elevoator to open.

When the door opened I looked to see Ozpin and Glynda talking intensely about something; seems really important, they looked over at me and immediately stopped waving me in…must have been something important.  
“Good to see you Soren.” Ozpin said, “What brings you here today?”  
“Well I was wondering if the others and I could join the Vytal festival tournament…is something wrong?” I looked down at the desk to see papers skewed all over…were those vital charts? Ozpin quickly covered the papers with his scroll as he took another sip from his mug.  
“Nothing vital,”…hehehe…focus Soren.  
“Well it’s might be a bit difficult.” Glynda said stepping forward, “I have no problem with you four being from different schools but I need an evaluation of your skills before you can compete.”  
“Really?” I asked, “Let me grab the rest of my team then.”  
“Actually-” She started stopping me, “-the other three have been consistently proving themselves in sparring but you’ve been absent.” It has been a few weeks…almost a month…guess that makes things difficult, “So I’m going to need to see you in a one on one sparring match.”  
“Okay…who am I going up against?”

Guess this is happening; strapping on my equipment I felt my heart race slightly at the thought of my opponent, I’ve wanted to fight them for a while but I wasn’t expecting it to be this intense when I finally went up against them.  
“C-Calm down Soren.” Lily said putting her hand on my shoulder, “Your face is turning red.”  
“Oh…Sorry.” I said chuckling, “Just nervous is all.”  
“Really?” Gareth said, “You seem tense more than anything else.” Tense?  
“Just don’t get too serious.” Alice said over my shoulder, “You don’t need to bring your A game on this.  
“Yeah just bring your B game.” Gareth said making me chuckle.  
“Thanks guys.” I said taking a deep breath, “I can do this!” Standing up I headed for the door to the arena, “Wish me luck!”  
“W-We’ll be cheering you on from the stands!” Lily said trying to sound encouraging. I stepped out of the locker room and found myself in the battle ring; I looked up to see Ruby and the others waving to me while Jaune, Nora and Ren were on the other side doing the same…for Pyrrha.   
“This is definitely not how I expected to take you on.” I said chuckling as Pyrrha walked over to me giggling.  
“Well let’s have a fun match.” Pyrrha said giving me a smile; she really had a winning smile, “I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.”  
“Me too.” I replied feeling my heart race again.  
“…You know…losing doesn’t mean it’s the end.”  
“Huh?” What was she talking about?  
“Don’t fear loss, it makes you strong.” She stepped away and I thought on what she said…loss huh?  
“Alright if both of you are ready-” Glynda walked onto the ring and looked at both of us, “-then let us begin.” Pulling out Twin Soul I focused on Pyrrha who’s weapons seemed to flow into her hand from her back…my pulse is still racing…and what’s this feeling of fear?

Pyrrha dashed forward suddenly and I blocked as she swung and pulled back going for the thrust as I blocked again; as I blocked she continuously backed up and attacked from a different angle making it almost impossible to dodge. Out of nowhere she pulled out a second sword and struck at my arm cutting it off completely…no, she didn’t…what was that? When she went for a horizontal swipe at my neck I dropped to the floor and swiped under her feet; as she fell she dropped her sword and propped herself up with her hand summersaulting back onto her feet. Suddenly I felt her sword rupture through my chest back into her hands…no, that didn’t happen…what was going on!? I watched as Pyrrha through her shield at my face and I flew backwards skidding along the floor; in another second I felt my stomach impaled by her- no! That’s not happening! Dropping my sword I stood up and looked at Pyrrha seeing all times of visions of my own death flash before my eyes; stop, no, I don’t want to see this anymore!  
“Soren?” I quickly dropped to my knees clutching my head; why was this happening? I felt a pair of hands on my shoulder and looked up to see Pyrrha looking at me with a worried look, “Are you okay?”  
“I…I don’t know.” I said feeling a heartbeat that could rival a drum solo, “I…see my own death flash during battle…and I don’t know why.” Suddenly I felt my head collide with her soft…‘chest’ as she rubbed my head.  
“I know that feeling; the fear consumes you with every loss you suffer. It happened to me with my first loss in a tournament…it wasn’t this bad…but I know how you feel. The sight of everything that could go wrong clouds your vision…but that’s just your fear showing you the worst.”  
“…This didn’t happen when I sparred with the others…why now?”  
“Sparring matches are less serious…in this case you’re fighting to prove your worth.”  
“How did you deal with it?”  
“I thought about why I fought…and then anybody I went up against I thought about those who I cared about and I was able to summon the courage to fight…it pushes back all the bad thoughts. Even if that doesn’t work you still have a reason to fight. Why do you fight Soren?”  
“So those I care about can continue to follow their dreams.”  
“And why are you fighting me?”  
“…So I can fight for others better.” She pushed me back slowly and gave me a gentle smile.  
“Then hold onto that goal and let those fears be pushed away.”  
“…Thanks Pyrrha…you know, you could be a good mother.” She giggled when I said that and I stood up grabbing my sword, “Alright, let’s keep going!” She gave a nod and moved to her side of the ring. Taking a deep breath I thought about Alice, Gareth and Lily; my heartbeat began to slow back to normal and I looked at Pyrrha. Dashing forward I switched to dual blades and took a swing as she leaned back and went for the vertical swing directly in the middle and she moved her arm forward blocking with her shield and quickly swung the shield pushing my sword to the side and sliced at my chest knocking me back and she moved forward taking rapid strikes and thrusts before changing to a rifle and shooting directly in my chest sending me back; damn she was tough. I looked at my scroll to see my aura had been taken down to fifty percent from that barrage…couldn’t let her do that again, time to switch to a defensive strategy. Switching to blade staff I pulled out my stun pistol and charged forward as Pyrrha moved to a defensive stance; I swung the staff ends at Pyrrha as she dodged and blocked. As my blade hit her shield I spun making the other end go under her shield and pulled making her shield go to the side; I spun again going for a strike and she quickly pulled her hand up moving to push my blade and I saw my staff move to the side with her hand and quickly moved my pistol in as she focused on my blade and shot directly into her arm and she tensed up unable to move; got you! Switching back to dual blade I swung up sending her into the air and jumped slicing along her back as she struggled to move; as I saw her regain control of her arm I landed sheathing Twin Soul and pulled out my blast pistol shooting six rounds into Pyrrha creating a smokescreen in the air. I stood there waiting for her to fall and suddenly saw as small holes pierced the smoke hitting the ground around me; Pyrrha dropped taking aim at me as I rolled to the side as she shot at me and ran around her as she readjusted her aim. I watched her aim line and saw as she jutted her aim in front of me, I lunged at her pinning her to the ground and she rolled kicking me off her and I skid back almost tripping as she stood up pulling her sword and shield back out. I switched back to dual blade and dashed up to her and swung at her as she went back to dodging and blocking; she switched it up though and started breaking my attacks occasionally and retaliating at which I blocked and pushed taking the offensive again as she blocked and broke my retaliation again. As this continued I could feel my heartbeat increase as my breaths became quicker and ragged; I have to find an opening before I run out of steam, the only problem was that she had an almost invincible block and dodge. I pushed up my force and watched as she was slightly pushed back; dropping to the ground I swung directly in front of her feet psyching her out and making her back step as I pushed forward dropping my right blade and slashing up to her face making her cringe. As I stood there still slicing up she looked at me and back flipped hitting me with the shield and making me stagger as she moved forward slicing along my chest quickly. Pushing through I swung my foot against her side making her stagger to the side as I moved with the momentum of my foot and struck along her side and rolled backwards grabbing my second blade and switching to longsword as she dashed forward holding her short sword with both hands as I blocked and we clashed blades pushing for control.  
“Definitely more than I expected.” Pyrrha said playfully as I felt my back foot slide slightly.  
“Good to know I can best your expectations.” I replied taking a step forward and pushing her back slightly; I heard her give a slight giggle and look at me confidently.  
“But you won’t best me!” She closed her eyes and I suddenly felt a wave make my blade push towards me making me stagger back surprised; she moved forward and swung up knocking my blade out of my hand and sliced along my body rapidly not leaving a body part for me to move and finished with a thrust sending me into the back wall as I collapsed to the ground…ow.  
“That’s the match.” Glynda said stepping forward as I tried getting up, “Very good miss Nikos, I expected no less from you.” Pyrrha moved over to help me up and I saw Alice was also approaching me, “And mister Thain-” As Pyrrha and Alice helped me up I looked at Glynda who chuckled, “-I hope you fare better in the tournament.”  
“Really?” I asked surprised.  
“I needed to evaluate your skills and while you weren’t able to best miss Nikos you did hold up better than any other competitor she’s faced. I’d say you and your team have a good chance in the tournament.” I looked at my scroll to see a title under my name.  
“Leader of Team…SAGL?” Glynda shrugged and Alice laughed.  
“If we ever need a team name we are never using that.” She said and I nodded; it was unique but…TOO unique…couldn’t place what it meant at all…besides that…grain company.  
“You know-” I sighed realizing how hectic my emotions have been since I’ve been here, “-as great as learning a lesson is, I think I could do without learning another one in this world.”  
“Just think of it as catch up.” Gareth said as Lily and he approached us, “We learned a bunch of lessons so now it’s your turn.”  
“Then can we call it here on the whole, ‘becoming a better person thing’ I can’t take anymore.” I gave a sigh and Lily ruffled my hair with a smile.  
“I think you’ve suffered enough.” Alice said helping me up as Pyrrha let go to move over to her team, “Both mentally and physically. Come on, let’s get lunch.” I stepped along as Alice helped me and I heard Gareth thinking making all of us turn to him.  
“Something wrong Gareth?” Lily asked and he glared at Alice.  
“Alice was being helpful…and strangely nice.” Gareth said and I suddenly realized.  
“He’s right…that is strange.”  
“Don’t make me drop you.” Alice said glaring at me.  
“I don’t mind it.” I said chuckling as I felt her grip loosen on purpose, “It’s just a bit uncommon is all.”  
“Is that really Alice?” Gareth asked to Lily.  
“Shut it Gareth!” ‘THUMP!’, “Oh! Sorry Soren.” …Ow…


	18. Chapter 18 (Preliminaries)

I felt my back give a crack as I smashed against the rock wall and fell to the ground, rolling forward I got up and blocked the incoming arrow knocking it away and dashing forward at the shooter; I took a few swings as the pink haired girl back stepped and dodged to the left and right. As I took my next swing she took another step back and I switched into blade staff mode going in for a thrust making her fly backwards. Taking a quick breath I looked around to see Alice throwing dust waves at another girl with short blond hair who jumped and glided over the waves as she moved towards Alice as her shoes began to light up. Gareth was dealing with a girl with long purple hair who launched dust crystals from around the arena at him; he blocked with his axe and pushed through the crystals that hit him as he gave her a cocky grin. Lily was fighting a girl with light pink hair who glided around her as she vaulted and jumped avoiding the whip that she flung at Lily; Lily quickly blocked as the whip coiled around her scythe and pulled making the girl stumble forward onto her face. Suddenly I heard the intercom system give small high pitch noise.  
“For those of you just joining us we are on the second to final match of the day and it’s showing to be an interesting match already.” That’s professor Port’s voice.  
“Yes it is with team PINK from Shade Academy and our first mixed school team SAGL with Soren from Beacon and Alice, Gareth and Lily from Haven Academy.” That’s Oobleck.  
“SAGL?” Ugh, “Sounds strange.”  
“We get it!” I screamed, “It’s not the best name!” Suddenly I felt the force of a cannon slam into my side making me skid backwards and clutch my side as high pitched giggling filled the air.  
“It’s not very smart to turn away from your enemy during a fight.” I looked over to see the pink haired girl was standing up and holding a pink cannon gun over her shoulder.  
“That’s a pretty impressive cannon. You ever repurpose it for parties?” I replied chuckling as she laughed uproariously.  
“Not a bad idea. But I think right now I want to blast you with it!” She pulled the trigger as I rolled to the side and pulled out my stun pistol taking a few shots as she jumped around the bullets with glee dancing the whole time, “Weee!!” Damn, got to rethink my approach; switching to dual blades I dashed in and began slicing at her as she ducked and flipped around my blades still smiling and laughing; it was amazing to watch her duck and weave as she supported the cannon still on her shoulder…that’s it! Moving backwards I pulled out my blast pistol and began shooting at her feet as she backed up; I unloaded all six of my rounds creating a thick smokescreen between me and her; I stood there for a moment and heard her cannon shoot, dashing at the shot I slid forward and switched back to dual blade and passing through the smokescreen I slid through the gap in her legs and jumped up slashing across her back and landing a flurry of blows against her back and when I was done she slowly collapsed to the ground dropping her cannon to the side. Stepping to her side I looked at her; hope I didn’t overdo it. Suddenly she opened her eyes and grabbed her cannon pointing it directly at me and shot sending me flying into the air; as I fell I looked to see I was headed towards Lily and gave a whistle making her look up and me and raise her scythe as it switched to staff mode. Grabbing the staff Lily pulled down and swung to the side as my feet slid into the rough rocky floor.  
“Whew…thanks Lily.” I said and she gave a nod.  
“Glad to help.” She replied. We looked over to see the light pink haired girl dashing towards us swinging her whip from side to side.  
“Need any help?” Lily shook her head and switched back to scythe mode jumping forward and swinging at her; the girl was caught in the scythe and Lily took a powerful swing sending her flying out of the ring.  
“And Kira is knocked out of the ring!” Lily looked back at me with a smile and I gave her a thumbs-up. I looked over to see Alice swing at the blond girl as she kicked at her and Gareth had finally made it up to the purple girl and was suddenly encased in ice.  
“Alice! Bull’s been caged!” I yelled and Alice pushed the girl back and sent a dust flame wave at Gareth and as it hit Gareth pulled back his axe and took a powerful swing at the purple haired girl sending her flying into the air, “Lily, time to practice your aim.” Lily nodded confidently and pulled out her rifle and lined up her shot; pulling the trigger she hit the flying girl and covered her in a thick layer of ice as she crashed to the ground shattering it and slumping into the ground.  
“And Iris’s aura drops to zero eliminating her!” As Gareth gave a cheer suddenly he was blasted over the rock formation; I looked over to see the pink haired girl giving a smug grin.  
“Avoid her blast at all cost.” I whispered and Lily nodded dashing forward as I moved over to Alice who was giving a small pant, “You doing good?”  
“She’s moving really quickly, her feet slide seamlessly across the smooth ground.” Alice explained as the blond approached us.  
“Then let’s make it bumpy.” Alice gave a nod and her edge turned brown as she swung along the ground causing small rock formation to appear; the blond girl began to panic as she scrambled around the formation, “Think she can fly?” Alice gave a long swing creating a ramp in front of her making the girl slid up and flail as she was now upside down; Alice dashed forward swing up and sending her flying, Alice pulled out her min-gun and unloaded her entire clip into the girl as she fell back down.  
“Looks like she couldn’t.” Alice said as she crashed into the pavement.  
“Fake out!” The pink haired girl shouted and I looked down at the blond girl to see her eyes pop open as she spun making Alice trip and the pink girl shot her back towards the edge of the ring; suddenly an axe head and chain flew towards her and wrapped around her waist. I looked back to see Gareth behind us holding the chain; he pulled her back towards us and I quickly caught her helping her back on her feet.  
“Alright, enchanted twilight!” Alice and I dashed forward as we switched to dual blades and began swing at the two girls; as we got into a rhythm Alice built up her dust edge and swung at me as I held my blades out as they were enveloped in her wind dust. (Speed, Power!) Alice and I began to swing quicker and harder as they began to stumble and panic; even the pink haired girl had a tense look on her face. We both took a double swing up making both of them stumble, “Earth Reaper!” We backed up as Lily dashed in and grabbed both of them with her scythe; she swung sending them towards Gareth who reeled back and when they were close enough he swung up sending…one of them flying into the air and hitting the barrier ceiling.  
“And Nicky’s aura is dropped to zero!” We looked over Gareth’s shoulder to see the pink haired girl dusting herself off; we all gave Gareth a condescending look as he chuckled.  
“Hehehe…my bad.” Alice gave a groan as I pulled out my stun pistol hitting the back of her neck as Alice struck her back making her fly out of the ring.  
“And in an anti-climactic fashion team SAGL has defeated Pinkie and eliminated team PINK!” I gave a sigh of relief as I sheathed my blade; the people in the stands cheered and I looked over to see team RWBY and JNPR as well as team SNNN cheering louder than the others…well…at least Nora and Ruby.

“How did you miss Pinkie?” Alice asked Gareth as we walked through the fair ground; it was still about an hour before Sun and his team were scheduled to fight and we were exhausted and hungry.  
“Bad aim?” Gareth replied.  
“You used the wide side of your axe right?” Lily asked and Gareth looked away.  
“Y-Yeah.”  
“Then you have no excuse.” Alice finished, “And I thought you said they were all guys Soren.” I shrugged in response.  
“I guess there were two team PINKs, I can’t plan for that.”  
“Your knowledge is very selective sometimes you know that.” Gareth said laughing.  
“We still won.” I said trying to break the tension, “Now let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”  
“I could eat.” Gareth said in agreement.  
“Let’s try the noodle place.” Lily said pointing to the booth where…the dust shop owner was; how many businesses does he own? Sitting down he looked at us and Gareth slammed his hand down suddenly.  
“Give me your biggest bowl!” The man gave a nod and came out with a bowl of noodles big enough to but any Sam’s club mega sized deal to shame.  
“Just a normal bowl please.” Alice asked and she was handed the same size, “Oh come on.”  
“Um…small bowl please?” Lily asked and she was handed the same size as the others; giving a small whine she began to eat.  
“Um…I guess I’ll have the same.” I said as he placed a bowl in front of me; this is not going to be easy. Paying the man we all dug in to our meal with Gareth finishing his…and another bowl after while Alice only got to about half before pushing it away and Lily eating about a third of hers. I managed to finish mine...somehow, “I think I’m going to be sick.” I said placing my head down on the table.  
“You gonna finish that Lily?” Gareth asked and she pushed her bowl over to him.  
“Hey guys.” I looked over to see Ruby and her team along with team JNPR approaching us, “Great job on the match.”  
“Thanks Ruby.” I replied feeling a burp come up, “Ugh…”   
“I know the feeling man.” Jaune said patting me on the back.  
“I wouldn’t do that unless you want to see the noodles I just ate.” Jaune pulled his hand back and I stood up taking a deep breath.  
“Hey Alice-” Before he could finish Alice pushed her bowl over to Gareth and he scarfed it down.  
“Geez, you’re a human garbage disposal.” Alice commented as he gave a satisfied sigh.  
“Well congratulations!” Yang said slapping my back and making my stomach lurch slightly; she’s not a strong listener is she?  
“I’d have to give you some praise as well.” I looked over to see Cinder and Neo walking towards us.  
“Thanks.” Gareth said getting up from his seat, “It was pretty easy.”  
“Says the guy who missed the last one.” I said with a chuckle as he punched me in the arm.  
“How did your match go?” Lily asked.  
“It was child’s play.” Cinder replied sitting down at the other end, “And I have faith that Emerald and Mercury will do very well in the doubles round.” Neo nodded in agreement, “So who’s playing double on your team?”  
“Well I thought we should have our most capable fighters go.” I explained.  
“But then we weren’t sure who to send then.” Lily finished.  
“More like a fight then being unsure though.” Alice added.  
“In the end we played rock-paper-scissors to decide.” I said, “So Alice and Lily are going into the doubles round.”  
“You always play scissors.” Alice said making me chuckle; sadly I didn’t think too much when playing.  
“What about you guys?” I asked turning to team JNPR.  
“Well Pyrrha was an obvious choice.” Ren explained, “And Nora strong-armed her way into the second slot.”   
“After what she did to that last group I say it’s well deserved.” Blake said.  
“Weren’t they taken to the infirmary afterwards?” Weiss asked and Nora chuckled.  
“I don’t think that’s something to laugh about.” Lily said with a worried tone.  
“So how long until Neptune and his team compete?” Alice asked; isn’t Sun the leader?  
“In about…ten minutes.” Pyrrha replied.  
“Then let’s start heading over.” I said taking a step and collapsing to the ground; my stomach didn’t want me moving right now, “Everyone go ahead…I’ll catch up later.” As everyone headed off I was helped up by Weiss and Alice who put me back in my seat.  
“You know you could have eaten less.” Weiss pointed out.  
“Gareth probably would have finished your meal.” Alice added as I gave a small vurp holding it in.  
“Waste not want not.” I explain groaning as Alice sighed. I looked up at the sky to see Atlas battle ships cross over the sky, “What’s with all the Atlas ships?” They both looked up and gave sounds of slight surprise.  
“They must be here to protect the Vytal Festival.” Weiss explained sounding slightly hesitant.  
“Seems a bit overkill.” Alice said, “I saw a full fleet of them positioned around the arena yesterday; I don’t see why they would need more people than that.” I looked over at Weiss to see she had a look of worry on her face.  
“I’m sure they have good intentions. Maybe Atlas is just being paranoid.” Feeling my stomach calm down I stood up taking in a deep breath, “Come on, let’s go watch Sun and his team go kick some butt.” As we walked I felt Alice tap my shoulder.  
“Have you gotten any word or…any sign of Mary?” She asked.  
“No, she hasn’t gotten in contact with me at all since I’ve been here. I thought she would have contact me after I had my memory return…but nothing.”  
“That’s too bad.” Alice said, “Since she sent us here to find you we haven’t gotten any word from her as well.” It’s very strange; we were here by coincidence not by purpose, she should have contacted us by this point…I guess our best chance to get out of here really is learning to open a dimensional tear…or portal…no, I like tear…, “Soren, focus.” Alice said snapping her fingers in front of my face.  
“Sorry…got a little lost in my head.” I replied and she gave a small chuckle.  
“Wouldn’t be the first time. So what’s the plan?”  
“Learn how to open a dimensional tear. That’s all we can do.”  
“And yet our basic training is doing nothing to make that possible.”  
“That’s why we’re in the tournament.”  
“Yeah…let’s hope it improves our progress quickly.” Easier said than done; compared to how strong I was when this all started I felt much more confident in how I could handle myself in a fight…maybe I could even win at arm wrestling finally…but I had no clue how to open a tear into another dimension let alone even muster the power needed to open it…is there something I’m missing?

Getting off the ship we rushed into the coliseum to see the match was about to start; we moved over to Ruby and the others and took a seat next to Lily and Gareth. Looking down I saw team SNNN was going up against team NDGO.  
“Good luck Neptune!” Weiss said sounding a bit excited. Looking back down I saw Neptune give the girls across from him a cool look and sly smile.  
“Ladies.” Idiot.  
“Bastard.” Alice mumbled gripping her arm chair.  
“BREAK HIS STUPID FACE INDIGOS!” Weiss yelled obviously jealous as the randomized field popped up. On the other side of the field a desert rose up; looks like Sun is going to have an advantage; on our side a beach with a disheveled pirate ship appeared; why did Neptune just turn into a plank of wood?  
“What’s wrong with Neptune?” I asked and Blake gave a sigh.  
“Neptune’s…afraid of the water.” This…is the greatest day ever.   
“3…2…1…begin!”

Once the match was over I felt my sides want to burst out of how I just saw Neptune act during the battle and was promptly stopped by Alice and Weiss who both smacked me on the head.  
“IT’S NOT THAT FUNNY!” They screamed as I rubbed the two new bumps.  
“Sorry but…it REALLY is. It’s like watching Ozpin stutter because he doesn’t know what to say…you don’t think it would happen but because it does it makes it all the better.” They both rolled their eyes at me and out of the corner of my eye I saw a strange ship fly over the arena, “What is that?” I asked and they turned their head to look at the ship and I heard Weiss give an excited gasp.  
“What is it Weiss?” Ruby asked.  
“She’s here!”

Ruby, Alice and I followed Weiss as she rushed towards the docked ship; a group of Atlas mechs walked out of the ship as a woman who looked like an older, somehow more serious, version of Weiss walked followed behind.  
“Winter!” Weiss called making her turn to us and as we approached her she came to a stop, “I’m so happy to see you…I mean…your presence honors us.”  
“…Beacon,” She began ignoring Weiss’s greeting, “it’s been a long time…the air feels…different.”  
“I mean it is fall so…yeah it’s probably colder.” Ruby said and Weiss swiftly knocked her down.  
“So, what are you doing here?” Weiss asked.  
“Classified.” Winter replied.  
“Oh, right…well how long are you staying?”  
“Classified.”  
“Of course.” What followed was a moment of awkward silence as Ruby stood back up.  
“Well…this is…nice.” Ruby said unsure what to say.  
“Incredibly awkward…but nice.” I added.  
“You’re going to love it here,” Weiss began sounding even more excited, “I know you travel a lot but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas, Vale too, the government and school are completely separate can you believe it!” Alice grabbed Weiss’s shoulder as she flailed around.  
“Weiss calm down…you’re frightening those two.” She said pointing to us…she wasn’t wrong though.  
“I’m more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its…bureaucracy,” Winter replied sounding slightly bitter, “That is not why I came.”  
“Right, I’m sorry.” Weiss replied.  
“Nor did I come to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle but it appears I have no choice in the matter.” Fail?  
“They won though.” I pointed out and Winter shot me an icy glare making me cringe slightly; she’s good.  
“Only a novice would refer to THAT as a victory,” And an insult towards me to top it off, “I counted at least three strikes missed.” Another moment of silence passed as Weiss sulked, “Leave us.” The atlas bots took a few steps to the side giving us more space, “How have you been?”  
“Oh, splendid, thank you for asking. I’m actually in the very top ranking of our sparring class; the rest of my studies are going wonderfully too. I’m-” Before she could finish Winter struck her on top of her head.  
“Silence, you boob! I don’t recall asking about your ranking, I asked how you’ve been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?”  
“Well, there’s Ruby.” Weiss replied pointing at Ruby who snickered as she pushed in Weiss’s bump.  
“Boob.” Ruby…  
“And Soren.” I gave a small wave as she glared at me.  
“Nice to meet you Winter.” I said.  
“MISS Winter.” Winter corrected  
“Sorry…Miss Winter.” She’s more ice queen then Weiss.  
“And Alice.” Weiss said pointing to Alice who gave a small bow.  
“A pleasure to meet you ma’am. I apologies for Soren…he’s an idiot.” Alice said throwing a small glare my way.  
“I see. So these are the friends you wrote of?” Winter said sounding unimpressed, “How appropriately…underwhelming.”  
“Uhh…thank you.” Ruby said.  
“I don’t think that was a compliment.” I whispered to her.  
“Greetings Ruby Rose, Soren Thain, Alice Blair.” Winter said turning to each of us respectively, “I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister.”  
“Oh, yes, of course!” Ruby stammered, “The honor is in my…court.”…what?  
“I have business with the general and your headmaster, but seeing as I’m early, why don’t you take me to your quarters?”  
“Really?” Weiss said excited.  
“Yes, I wish to inspect them and make sure they are up to my personal standards.”  
“Of course; just so you’re aware, the bunk beds only look unstable.”  
“Bunk beds?” They began to walk away leaving us there and Ruby waved to them.  
“I’ll cat up- wait, uh…I mean I will…reconvene with you both at a later…uh…”  
“Juncture-”  
“Juncture! At a juncture, yeah.”  
“Ruby,” I said making her look up at me, “…stay innocent.” She gave me a confusing look before Alice and I began to walk towards Weiss and Winter. As we approached them I heard the footsteps of the robots behind us stop and turn into the sound of metal being ripped apart.  
“Hey!” We turned around to see a tall man with slick black hair and intense eyes looking passed us, “Yeah, I’m talking to you ice queen.” He’s talking to Weiss? Weiss stormed passed us and approached the man as we followed behind her.  
“Excuse me, do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”  
“Sssshhhh, not you.” He said pushing her and both of us aside and staring at Winter, “You.” There was a moment of silence- man there have been too many of those today, as they stared daggers at each other, “Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. I guess you’re here too.”  
“I’m standing right before you.” Winter replied calmly. The man squinted at her.  
“So it would seem.” Was he drunk?  
“Are you drunk?” I asked and he chuckled.  
“Might have had a few drinks before coming here.”  
“You realize you just destroyed Atlas military property?” Winter said and he looked around him.  
“Ohhh I’m sorry,” He replied sarcastically, “see, I mistook this for some sort of…sentient garbage.”  
“I don’t have time for your immature games, Qrow.”  
“Wait…they know each other?” Alice said surprised.  
“Yeah…didn’t expect her to go for a drunk.” I said chuckling as Alice hit me.  
“Shut it!”  
“Jeez, you Atlas specialists think you’re so special, don’t you?” Qrow said.  
“It’s in the title.” Winter replied sounding more annoyed every second.  
“Well, you know what you really are? A buncha sellouts, just like your boss.”  
“I’m not sure what you think you’re implying but I’ve heard enough.” I looked over to see Winter had grasped the handle of her weapon.  
“Oh, I heard too. I heard ol’ Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin.”  
“The headmaster?” I said surprised; who doesn’t he know?  
“Weiss, it’s time for you to go.” Winter said pushing her back as we moved over to them.  
“What?”  
“Listen to big sister Weiss,” Qrow began, “she’ll protect you. Just like Atlas is going to protect all of us, huh?” He’s just trying to pick a fight isn’t he?  
“If you won’t hold your tongue-” Winter drew her blade pointing it at Qrow, “-then I will gladly remove it for you.”   
“Alright then…come and take it.” Moving forward I put my hand on her blade arm.  
“Winter, I know you don’t know me but trust me when I say he’s just trying to provoke you. Nothing good can come from this fight.” She looked down at me with a glare and I felt my heart race in fear; Qrow began to laugh and we turned to him.  
“Lookie here, a kid who thinks he can stop an Atlas robot.”   
“What?”  
“Listen bucko, they got em hardwired at Atlas. Little robots ready to dance at the push of a button, unfortunately it seems like their leader is making poor use of that controller…ain’t that right?” 

Before I could even react Winter blew past me and began taking thrusts at Qrow who dodged them with ease; the next moment Qrow took a bow and Winter swung at his back hitting the weapon strapped to his belt. Qrow grabbed the handle and pulled it out pointing it at her and raising his other hand in a mocking fencer stance; he was just toying with her. As they swung at each other I heard footsteps behind me and saw Ruby approaching us.  
“What’s going on?”  
“Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!” Weiss replied motioning to the two of them.  
“Oh no! Who would do such a th-” As Ruby turned to the fight her face turned from a look of worry to one of excitement and joy, “-aaaaat is my uncle!”  
“What?”  
“Kick her butt, uncle Qrow!”  
“Uhh, teach him respect, Winter!”  
“Sweet a fight!” Alice and I looked back to see Gareth and Lily rushing over to us.  
“Where did you two go?” Alice asked.  
“We went back to the fair grounds.” Lily answered, “What happened here?”  
“We met Weiss’s sister Winter,”   
“And then Ruby’s uncle Qrow.” I finished pointing to the current fight.  
“Cool, he must be super cool!” Gareth said sounding impressed as Winter struck him and Qrow’s eye gave a glint as he slammed his blade into the ground creating a crater where he hit.  
“He’s drunk.” Alice said coldly.  
“Even cooler!”  
“That’s not good! He could get hurt!” Lily said and I looked over to see Qrow shooting at Winter as she dashed across the pillars.  
“I think he’s fine.” I said impressed by his focus. When They dropped back down Qrow skid back and pushed his blade into the ground slowing him down as Winter sent a flurry a blue birds at him; when it subsided Qrow held his blade out and I heard whirling gears as his blade seem to disconnect and curve into a scythe edge. As we watched with bated breath he stood up straight as his blade went back to normal and he placed it on his back; he looked at Winter and beckoned her over; Winter shot forward and thrust at him aiming at his throat-  
“Schnee!” Suddenly she stopped and we looked behind us to see Ironwood standing behind us.  
“General Ironwood, sir!” Winter said standing up straight.  
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?”  
“He started the altercation, sir.”  
“That’s actually not true,” Qrow said, “she attacked first.”  
“Is that right?” Ironwood said looking back at Winter who put her head down, “And you,” Ironwood looked at Qrow, “what are you doing here?”  
“I could be asking you the same thing.”  
“I-”  
“Now, now everyone.” I looked behind me again to see Ozpin and Glynda approaching us, “There is a sanction fight happening just around the corner at the coliseum. That I can assure you has better seats, and popcorn.”  
“Break it up everyone.” Glynda said motioning people away, “We will take care of this mess.”  
“…Let’s go.” Ironwood said as he and Winter walked away. Before I could move Ruby dashed forward and attached herself to Qrow’s arm.  
“Uncle Qrow! Hi.” Qrow raised his arm calmly and looked at her, “Ahh it’s so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me?!”  
“Nope.” Qrow replied smiling and ruffled her hair.  
“Qrow.” Ozpin said pulling his attention, “A word, please.” Qrow whispered to Ruby and bumped her fist as he followed Ozpin.  
“Ruby!” Gareth said dashing forward, “That guy is awesome!”  
“Well that guy is my uncle.” Ruby replied proudly, “And he’s the coolest guy ever.”  
“I didn’t know the ‘coolest guy ever’ smelled like booze.” Alice said providing the air quotes.  
“Yeah…he always fights drunk.”  
“Always?” Lily said in shock.   
“I’d hate to see him fight sober.” I said chuckling.  
“Suddenly your recklessness makes sense.” Weiss said sounding peeved.  
“You’re just mad cause he whooped butt.” Ruby replied.  
“That was a draw at best.” We all gave a laugh and I heard someone clear their throat behind us. I turned around to see Glynda standing there.  
“Soren, would you please come to?” Really?  
“Um…okay.” I replied, “We’ll meet back at the dorm guys.” I said to the others as I followed Glynda to Ozpin’s office, wonder what she needs from me.

I stood in between Qrow and Glynda as the elevator rose and when it opened I was surprised at how quickly Winter’s look of discomfort and anger turned to rage.  
“What were you thinking?”  
“If you were one of my men, I would have you shot.” Ironwood added as Qrow pulled out his flask.  
“If I was one of your men, I’d shoot myself.” Qrow replied coldly.  
“While I wouldn’t condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn’t help the situation.” Glynda pointed out.  
“Even pipsqueak here could see that.” Qrow said pointing to me.  
“He was drunk!” Winter argued.  
“He’s always drunk.” Glynda retaliated as all of them, including myself, looked at him as he drank from his flask before shrugging as everyone looked at him.  
“Agh, Qrow why are you here?” Ozpin asked sitting down.  
“You’ve been out of contact for weeks, you can’t just go dark like that in the field.” Ironwood said.  
“I’m not one of your special operatives, Jimmy.” Qrow responded.  
“General.” Winter corrected.  
“Whatever. You sent me to get intel on our enemy and I’m telling you, our enemy is here.” What?  
“We know.” Ironwood replied; they know!?  
“Oh! Oh you know. Well thank goodness I’m out there risking my life to keep you all informed!  
“Qrow-”  
“Communication is a two way street, pal.” Qrow pulled out his scroll, “You see this? That’s the send button.”  
“They had reason to assume you’d been compromised.” Winter replied.  
“Doesn’t mean you can’t lock your scroll.” I added making everyone look at me; should have kept my mouth shut, “Every scroll has a function so you can lock it, I doubt Qrow would break easily and give them the code.”  
“Two points for the brat.” Qrow said, “Speaking of, I have reason to assume you and him don’t need to be here. Seriously, who invited them?”  
“Schnee, we’ll discuss this incident back on my ship.” Ironwood said.  
“But sir-”  
“Winter, leave.”   
“…Yes sir.” With that Winter walked past Qrow and into the elevator.  
“Neat trick, can she fetch and play dead too?” Qrow asked as nobody responded, “Now what about the kid?”  
“He’s here for a different reason.” Glynda answered.  
“Then how about you start explaining it then because it seems like I’m being left out of the loop lately.”  
“Well-”  
“Not you Glynda.” Qrow turned to me giving me an intense look, “I want to hear it from the source.” I took a small step back feeling my heart race as they all looked at me; guess I couldn’t leave them in the dark forever, probably should have expected this when I talked to Ozpin last, “Well?”  
“R-Right…well first off what do you know?”  
“Just that some kid is standing in front of me with what’s apparently more important than the end of our world.”   
“Well…you aren’t wrong.” I replied making him raise an eyebrow, “Ozpin and Glynda know about Owen but the gist of it is that there’s this guy named Owen and he’s been gathering people like me and my friends in order to gather our power and…and destroy all of existence.”  
“Really? Sounds interesting, I think I heard this is some second grade play.”  
“Qrow,” Ozpin opened up the video of Jarek and I coming in through the portal and then the video of Owen and his group leaving through the portal during the end of last semester, “he’s not joking.”  
“So it would seem.” He turned back to me and pulled his flask back out taking a swig, “Alright then kid, what makes you so special?”  
“Um…well…I’m not from this world.” I answered and he gave a look of surprise.  
“Well…didn’t expect that.”  
“It’s true.” Ironwood interjected, “Soren and his team are not registered within any of our databases.” Qrow gave a small chuckle.  
“Well then…why are you here?”  
“E-Excuse me?”  
“You heard me, if there really is an issue affecting all of existence then why are you wasting time in the Vytal tournament.” He gave me an intense glare and I gripped my fist in frustration.  
“I…can’t open it.”  
“What?”  
“I can’t open the tear out of here. I know I can do it but…I can’t do it.”  
“Hmph, not surprising considering the match I watched.”   
“What?”  
“You and your team are sloppy and weak. It’s no surprise that you don’t have the power to do it.” …As much as I hated it he wasn’t wrong; we were still weak, even after pushing ourselves for weeks I could still play back the match with Damien and even adding in how much we improved now…we would still lose.  
“I know…we’re weak and unskilled, everything we’ve learned has only been because we’ve been stuck in life and death situations. Any skill with a weapon we have has only been because we’ve been using them; we’re not professionals…and I doubt we ever will be,” I felt my body tremble as I said this, “but even knowing what I’m not willing to give up! That team I have are my best friends and I’m not about to let existence end for them…and there willing to stand by me through thick and thin; so I’m not about to betray their feelings, I’ll fight through hell if I can protect those I care about!”   
“…Platitudes.”  
“What!?”  
“That’s all fine talk but what have you done to stand by those words? As far as I’m concerned you shouldn’t even be here…you should be spending every waking minute on trying to open that portal.”   
“Ngh!”  
“Qrow!” Glynda yelled.  
“Calm down Glynda, I’m asking a simple question. So kid, what’s your answer.” I took a deep breath feeling the tension threating to crush me.  
“I’ve been through a lot of pain…I’ve seen those I care about die…but my friends aren’t dead. Ignoring them would be the same as treating them like the dead. They’re my team…more importantly they’re my friends, I’m not going to ignore them; if anything we’re going to become better together…or not at all.” His frown turned to a smirk as he bent down to look me in the eye; feeling my hear race I kept my composer.  
“And you’re willing to stand by that decision? No matter what?”  
“Hell, high water or the end of existence. I’ve experienced too much to start doubting myself now.” He chuckled before standing back up and ruffling my hair more than it already was.  
“That’s a pretty grown up decision for a pipsqueak. I respect it though.” He turned back to Ozpin, “So what do you want me to do?”  
“I would actually like you to oversee his team and help them in their training while the Vytal festival is taking place.” I took a step back in surprise.   
“That’s all?” That’s all!?  
“Yes, I want you to prepare these children for the inevitable hardships they are about to encounter.”  
“Yeah, that’s true enough. So kid-”  
“Soren’s my name.”  
“Whatever. I’ve got some big grown up problems to discuss so make sure your team is ready tomorrow at noon.”  
“Right!” I replied feeling a bit excited; to be trained by a hunter who can do what he does…drunk no less; it’s definitely something to be excited about.  
“I’m warning you, it’s not going to be easy.” Qrow warned.  
“That won’t stop us.”  
“…Good.” With that final word I walked into the elevator and listened to the hum as it moved down as well as the race of my heart going up…every moment like this…every talk with Ozpin made the situation I was feel more real. Even knowing how serious the situation was now it became heavier and heavier every time Ozpin helped me out; even after a semester here I still didn’t know a lot about Ozpin…but the one thing I did know is that he didn’t make a decision unless he was fully certain of what would happen; both the positives and the negatives. I knew he was putting his faith in me and that made the situation all the more intense…now I know how Link felt…but I’m not giving up yet! As the doors opened I exited the building and was surprised to see Cinder standing in front of the elevator.  
“Cinder? What are you doing here?” She had a look of slight surprise before giving me a small smile.  
“I came to have a chat with the headmaster of Beacon; I had a few questions I’d like him to address.” Suddenly I felt my heart increase…in fear?  
“W-Well he and Ironwood are having a conversation right now. Probably about what happened in the courtyard earlier.”  
“Hmm…well then I’ll wait for them to finish. Thanks.”  
“…No prob.” I gave a wave walking out of the building and I put my hand over my heart feeling my heart slow down; there was something about Cinder that made my heart race in that moment and it definitely wasn’t her physical appearance…it was more instinct; like facing down a wild animal. This world…even after getting my memories back it still felt like a blank slate in my memory; I know it’s a world that Rooster Teeth made an animated series about and every day I spend with team RWBY seem to bring back memories of watching the episodes…but anything from the future is out of reach and even then I feel like pieces of the episodes are still in the dark. Maybe I shouldn’t dwell on it too much, if I’m not careful I’ll end up giving myself a headache; right now I’ve got to focus on getting ready for tomorrow; knowing Qrow he’ll have an intense training session ready…or he’ll be too drunk to think of one…now I’m more worried than ever.


	19. Chapter 19 (Doubles Match)

I took a swing instantly hitting Qrow’s blade and moved to thrust as he blocked again; Alice snuck up behind him and went for a swing as he did a spin kick knocking both of us back; Gareth had jumped up and was about to crash down on Qrow before he grabbed the edge of the axe and threw it to the side sending Gareth flying at Lily who had made it to Qrow before being sent flying back with Gareth. Getting up I switched to blade staff and dashed at him swinging with one end and then swinging with the other end as he blocked every attack sent at him; coming to a stale mate I clashed blades and pushed with all my strength as he held his blade with one hand and pushed me backwards easily. I looked to see Alice had moved up and was striking quickly trying to puncture every opening she could, no matter what though he was always one step ahead of her moving to where her blade was trying to hit. As she sent a flurry of blows I watched both of their eyes noticing how Qrow’s stayed laser focused on her face while Alice’s darted around all over his body; watching Qrow’s other hand I watched it quickly connect with Alice’s stomach and send her flying backwards. Gareth rushed in next sending heavy blows at Qrow and managing to knock his weapon to the side…but Qrow’s arms seem to show no tension…he let his weapon be pushed to the side; Gareth built up momentum and went in for his patented axe flurry as Qrow continued to let himself be over powered. I saw a smirk come over Gareth’s face…and another come over Qrow’s face as he blocked Gareth’s flurry making it stop instantly and Gareth give a look of shock; with another swing Qrow sent Gareth flying into the air and crashing to the ground. Lily finally moved in swinging her scythe at Qrow’s feet, Qrow hopped up as the blade moved under him and Lily swung her hilt end going for Qrow’s head; as his feet touched theground again he bent back as the staff end flew over him, Lily spun her scythe going for a downward slash at which he raised his blade to his chest catching the scythe blade and pushing it back making her skid back slightly; in her distortion Qrow quickly thrust at her chest sending her flying back. It was unbelievable how skilled and powerful he was; he had managed to deplete all of our aura levels to red and handle our attacks without moving from that spot!  
“That all you got?” Qrow said obviously bating us to attack again. Getting up I sheathed my weapon and saw as the others did the same, “Guess that’s a yes.”  
“Damn. We lost.” Gareth said clutching his fist.  
“I g-guess that’s to be expected. He is a huntsman.” Lily said moving over to Gareth.  
“Still, I didn’t expect that.” Alice said sounding slightly annoyed.  
“Well I was expecting more.” Qrow said bluntly, “You couldn’t even budge me from my spot.” Putting away his weapon he pointed at Alice, “You give away your attacks by where you look; you may move quickly but your eyes give you away.” He then pointed at Gareth, “You rely on your strength too much turning it into a crutch; you’ve got more than that so use it.” Next was Lily, “Your skills and strength are good but your speed is your main issue…you’re hesitant in your attacks and that makes you slow.” Finally he pointed at me, “And you, your skills are rough and unbalanced. Your teammates have weapons that tailor to a certain attribute. Alice uses a katana so speed is her main strength; Gareth uses a battle axe so power and defense are his main attributes and Lily uses a scythe so her attributes are Speed and strength. You use a longsword, two of them at that, so you work with a balanced set, power, defense and speed. While you are balanced in those areas you have rough form and sloppy skills.” Qrow was an impressive person; not only through his strength and skill but his ability to determine our strengths and weaknesses from a single one-sided match was incredible, he was a hunter for a reason I guess, “Alright, that was a good warm-up, now let’s see what you can do with a gun.”

We spent the rest of the morning working on our accuracy with our respective firearms and doing whatever training Qrow assigned us to do; push-ups, jumping jacks, track, sit-ups, squats, even frog hops. I gave a sigh of relief finishing the fiftieth frog hop and collapsed to the ground.  
“Is he trying to kill us?” Alice asked collapsing next to me.  
“I haven’t done this much exercise ever.” Lily said gasping.  
“Yeah, even gym wasn’t this brutal.” I said chuckling as Gareth collapsed backwards in front of me.  
“Can I die yet?”  
“Not yet.” Qrow answered as we all looked up at him, “After all you have a match in a few minutes.” I looked at my scroll to see it was almost twelve in the afternoon; our match was set to start at twelve fifteen.  
“Crap! We have to hurry to the Vytal arena!” We all got up and as we started rushing to the arena I felt someone pull at my collar and looked to see Qrow holding said collar.  
“Not you, I’ve got something else for you to do.” 

Lily  
“Good to see you made it on time.” Doctor Oobleck said as I panted; we ran all the way here and even getting off the ship we only had a few minutes, I’m surprised we had made it with a few minutes to spar, “Well ladies go get ready in the locker room and wait for Port to call your name. Good luck.” With that Oobleck dashed off and we all gave a collective sigh of relief.  
“Guess I should head for the stands.” Gareth said giving us a wave as he took off; wish us luck Gareth.  
“Too bad Soren couldn’t see us fight.” I said as Alice and I walked towards the locker room; Alice gave a small pout at this comment.  
“Stupid Qrow; making us all sore and keeping Soren behind.” I giggled at her comment and felt a small soreness in my back; even when I went to gym I don’t think I ever ended up this sore, hopefully this wouldn’t hinder us as we fought, “Hey Lily?”  
“Yeah?”  
“About what Qrow said earlier. Do you really hesitate when you attack?” I thought about that as well and thinking back on every fight I had ever been in it seemed wrong…but then I thought back to how I felt and right before I swung I felt a strange feeling overwhelm me…fear.  
“Y-Yeah.”  
“Do you know why?”…  
“I-I’m not a fighter like you guys…I’m a bookworm, whenever I think about an attack everything runs through my head at once…and I feel myself freeze with fear at what could happen.”  
“…So you’re unconfident in your attack?”  
“…Yeah.”  
“Lily, none of us are fighters. Gareth’s a go-lucky idiot, Soren’s a trusting idiot and I’m a stubborn, easily angered girl. None of us are fighters by choice…but we all fight because we want to protect each other.” That was true, I want to protect my friends so I’ll fight…but I didn’t have the spirit to give it my all.  
“Hmhmhm…you admit to being stubborn?”  
“You ever tell Soren or Gareth and I’ll shave your head.” Alice said making both of us giggle.

Alice  
We stood in the middle of the ring waiting for the others to show up and I looked around seeing team RWBY, JNPR, SNNN, CFVY and Gareth watching us from the stands…we know more people than I originally thought we did. Alright, focus Alice; we’re going up against two members of team RAEL (Rail) from Atlas which means we’re going to be dealing with soldiers who use strict tactics and have military practice. From the other side of the ring a boy and a girl came out rushing towards us clumsily; the boy had black hair and was carrying a katana in his hand while the girl had blond hair in small twin tails and carried a bow.  
“Sorry we’re a little late. Alisa and I aren’t use to Vale so we got a little lost.” The boy explained.  
“Did you take the route through the dust district? If you did then it extends the time to get to the arena by five minutes including the ship up here.” Lily explained.  
“Rean, I told you we should have just gone to the docks and followed the edge to the ships.” Alisa said in a huff as Rean sighed.  
“Yeah sorry.” He replied, “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you both.”  
“What are your names?”  
“I’m Alice Blair.” I answered.  
“My name’s Lily Tesit.” Lily answered, “W-What’s your names?”  
“I’m Alisa Reinford.” Alisa answered turning to Rean.  
“Rean Schwarzer.” Rean answered; they didn’t look like I expected military to look but they were more professional than Flint or Neon looked with Weiss and Yang’s match, “Let’s have a good match.” I gave a nod in agreement as the randomizer for the field scrolled; when it stopped it had landed on field, mountains, ice caps and hot lands.  
“3,” We all stood ready and I examined Rean and Alisa taking in every detail of them, “2,” I can’t give away my moves, I have to remember everything I can about them right now, “1,” Let’s hope this works, “Begin!”

Soren  
With a final swing I took a moment to catch my breath.  
“Again.” Qrow said making me stand up straight, “I want you to repeat the motions until it becomes second nature in your mind.” I took a deep breath and moved back into position. Left swing, right swing, upward, downward, right diagonal- “Defense stance.” Switch, hold, “Speed stance.” Switch, swipe right, swipe left, thrust, swipe up, swipe down- “Power stance.” Switch, full spin, upward jumping swing, falling plunge, jump and falling swing, thrust and roll- “Back to balanced stance.” Switch, left swing, right swing, upward, downward- “Stop.” As soon as he said that I feel backwards onto my butt and heaved as my heart raced and my muscles tensed.  
“Haaa…ahhh.”  
“Let me see your weapon.” As he extended his hand I handed him Twin Soul and he began whipping it around and changing it to twin blades and blade staff, “Hm, three functions…no fire arm attached, that’s new. I’m assuming you designated each form as well?”  
“Yeah, single blade is power, staff is defense and dual blade is speed.” When I finished he gave a small chuckle before tossing it back to me.  
“You kids really know how to limit yourselves.”  
“Is it because there’s no fire arm attached?” I asked holding up my pistol, “Because I’ve got one.”  
“No, I’ve seen plenty of different huntsmen who use a side fire arm. Some who don’t use them at all even.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“You’ve seen how ice princess uses dust as her projectile. Let’s just say I’ve seen that, Atlas even has some students who are tailor fit for dust projectiles.” Really? Sounds interesting…and dangerous.

Alice  
Damn, he’s a lot faster than I expected…or maybe I’m he can read my attacks like Qrow did…damn it I’m doubting myself. As he took another swing I moved to block and pulled out my mini-gun aiming directly for his stomach; he pushed me backwards and held his blade out as crystals began to form around him.  
“What the hell?”  
“Alice!” I looked behind me to see Lily jump back from an arrow, “They can control dust! That’s their projectiles!”  
“Oh that’s just fun!” I turned back to Rean as he launched them at me; sending out a fire wave I watched the crystals disappear as they hit my wave. Once it dispersed I dashed in going for his leg, as I swung he moved to block catching my blade; damn it I did it again. He swung up making me stagger and thrust sending me flying back into Lily, we stood up and I looked up to see Alisa in the mountain with her eye line directed at us, “We need to get rid of her or else we’re going to be pinned down until they take us out.”  
“What should we do?” Lily asked and I pulled out my mini-gun replacing the clip.  
“I’m going to take out little miss sharpshooter. Can you hold Rean for a little bit?”  
“I-I think.” I turned to her seeing signs of hesitation in her eyes.  
“Lily don’t worry. You can do this…believe in yourself…okay?”  
“O-Okay.” Hopefully that helps her. Lily handed me a full dust clip which I slipped into my blade and rushed towards the mountains; as I turned the corner I saw an arrow come at me and swereved as it crossed a few inches from me towards the ground. I’m coming for you!

Lily  
Okay…deep breath Lily, you can do this…just give it all you’ve got…oh I haven’t got much anyway. Switching to rifle I crouched over the rock and began firing at Rean as he rushed at me; Rean swung at each of my shots knocking them away and I watched his blade begin to glow blue as he came closer…oh no! Putting my rifle away I leapt backwards as he swung down at the rock I was crouched behind; ice covered the rock and shattered into pieces as Rean’s blade turned red and he dashed at me. Pulling out my staff I began to block as he swung his blade at me; his blade streamed fire as I blocked and dodged his hits. As I retaliated I swung at all his open points and he blocked every hit with ease; on my final hit he swung up making me stagger backwards; he thrust forward making me crash into a far tree as fire consumed me. When I crashed to the ground I shakily stood up and looked at my scroll to see my aura was at fifty percent; one hit had done this to me…both of their auras were still at one hundred; guess they really were military ready.   
“You seem unfocused.” Rean commented as I switched to scythe mode, “Or maybe hesitant?” Even he can see it…damn it, “Why do you want to be a huntress?”  
“…I don’t actually care about being a huntress…I just want to protect my friends…that’s why I’m here in the first place.” I answered feeling my hands grow heavy as my scythe weighed me down, “Maybe your resolve is weak.” My resolve?  
“What do you mean?”  
“Well you can put your all into a fight for a reason…but without a strong resolve you can’t fight at your best.” So…I really can’t fight, “Maybe you don’t have the resolve…but I’m sure you can find it.” …I came here to get Soren back…because without him we weren’t the same…Gareth seemed less inclined to egg Alice on, Alice just went quiet…and I felt like my brother was gone again; so when Mary gave us a chance to find him we took it…when we weren’t all together it felt wrong…but in the time we weren’t together I found myself trying harder to become stronger and better than ever before…so why now? Why is it different now that we’re back together; is it because we’re all together again…because we’re together again I’ve felt less motivated…but that’s a good thing…and yet we still have to take on Owen…and I still don’t have the resolve. Gripping my scythe I raised it up and pointed it at Rean; but I won’t give up here, I want to help my friends!

Alice  
“Gah!” I felt my hand slip as I dodged the incoming arrow; stupid girl, I hope Lily is doing okay; quickening my pace I leapt for each rock until I made it to the top, as I pulled myself up I kicked Alisa back as she pulled her bow string back. She skid back and pulled out a different arrow attaching it to her bow with a click; the bow string zipped into the bow frame as it folded in turning the bow into a rapier. She thrust forward as I blocked her strike and pushed her back moving to retaliate; our blows never hit each other as we continued to trade positions, I even pulled out my second blade to retaliate against her dust crystal shots.  
“Seems were at a standstill.” Alisa commented as we both gave heavy breaths. Before I could respond she shot lightning dust crystals at me; my body gave small convulsions as she gave a thrust forward making me roll backwards. As I stood up I looked at my scroll to see my aura was now down to fifty percent, “I have to admit it’s impressive how you can block my moves just from my blade movements…but your eyes give away your moves.” I’m getting sick of this now!  
“What does that matter!?” I yelled back.  
“Well your next move is very obvious when you stare at my leg for ten full seconds.” That’s how long I spend looking? Come on! I dashed in slashing at every opening as she seamlessly blocked smirking at me the whole time; come on, “CLANG!” just, “CLANG!” hit, “CLANG!” her! On my next hit I swung down as she stepped back and thrust at me sending me flying to the edge of the cliff; I looked down to see Rean and Lily fighting; Lily seemed to be struggling as Rean took full control of the fight; she needed my help…but if I don’t figure out how to take Alisa out then I won’t be able to help her…okay…deep breath Alice. Getting back up I took a long look at Alisa as I positioned myself; she can see each of my moves through where my eyes look…looks like this just got easier. Dashing in I began swinging as she blocked and dodged; her right arm; with a few more swings I went in for the big hit and she moved to block her right arm…as I struck directly at her chest making her roll backwards, “W…What the?” I gave her a smirk as she stood up; looks like I just turned this fight around. As we traded blows I continued to lead her blocks astray and strike her where she least expected it, “Heh…wasn’t expecting that…” She looked at her scroll and I looked up to see her aura was just hitting twenty-five percent; one more hit and she was done. As I was looking she had moved to the cliff edge and was pulling her bow string back aiming for Lily.  
“Not happening!” I shouted dropping my blades and grabbing her; as I pulled her away I was suddenly surrounded by dust crystals all pointed at us, “Clever girl.” She giggled as suddenly we were surrounded by intense burst.

Lily  
As I blocked most of Rean’s attacks I was suddenly startled hearing an explosion causing both of us to look up at the mountain; as the smoke cleared I saw Alisa and Alice both on the mountain top.  
“And with that suicide attack Alisa has taken Alice out while also taking herself out.” Port commented. My eyes widened as Alice fell off the mountain towards the ground; moving as fast as I could I dashed towards Alice; to my surprise she seemed to fall slower than before…was I slowing down time again? When I came close enough I dove catching Alice; as I looked at her I felt a small tange at my heart…like when Soren was about to be taken out by Owen…or when Gareth had been almost torn apart by Marilith…a moment of emptiness. I know it’s just a match but I felt like I was about to lose Alice in that moment…and I had resolve in that moment…that very moment I felt I had to give it my all. I don’t want us to be separated again…every fight has the possibility of that happening…that’s why I have to fight with my all…and why I’m going to fight Owen…to keep us together…there’s my resolve. Standing up I gripped my scythe and turned to Rean; I dashed forward and took a swing catching Rean by surprise and sending him flying backwards. When he got back up he moved to send dust shots at me as I dodged and blocked every shot; as he sent an assault of dust at me I spun my staff catching each crystal and dashed forward; when he thrust to catch me I slid to the side and vaulted over him, as soon as I hit the ground I made a back swing with my scythe catching him and sending him flying. Jumping up I swung down at him making him crash to the ground, “And Lily has taken Rean’s aura level to zero!”  
“What a shocking turn of events! I didn’t expect that at all.” Oobleck said.  
“Never underestimate the little ones.” Am I small…I guess compared to some of the other students…I’m about the same height as Alice…Alice! I rushed over to Alice and looked to see she was groaning.  
“Thanks for catching me.” She said.  
“Are you okay?”  
“Yeah…just a little sore is all.”  
“At least you didn’t go soaring…right?” She groaned at my pun and gave me a smile.  
“Stop hanging around Gareth. It’ll make you stupid.” We both giggled at this as Alisa and Rean approached us.  
“Man, guess we need to get better.” Rean said chuckling, “I didn’t even get a chance to pull out my A-game.”  
“Guess we should have let Laura and Elliot do this.” Alisa said huffing in disappointment.  
“Well I’m guessing they still would have had a tough time against these two.”  
“Geez Rean how weak do you think we are?”  
“It’s not that Alisa, they just seem very determined to win.” Alice sighed at this comment.  
“I should introduce you to my friend Soren.” She said.  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, you two talk about the same…I think you would get along.” 

Soren  
“Ah…ACHOO!!” Wiping my nose on my sleeve I looked around me; weird…  
“You okay?” Qrow asked.  
“Yeah…just got a weird feeling.” I replied, “So shall we keep going?” I stood up grabbing my blade and as I moved into position he put his hand on my shoulder.  
“Nah, we’ll call it here for right now. You’ve got the basics down and that’s helped you improve a lot. Just don’t forget them and you’ll do fine.” Sheathing my blade I looked at him and chuckled.  
“Sounds kind of like a half-assed job on your end.” He shrugged at this ruffling my hair.  
“What can I say; there’s not much to teach…besides, you’ve got something more important to focus on right?” Realizing what he meant I gave a nod and pulled my blade back out; taking a deep breath I rose my blade and swung feeling it catch on something, continuing to push with all my might my blade cut through something. As I opened my eyes I was surprised to see a hole had opened where I swung; it was a swirling white vortex that felt like it was inviting me inside, as I stepped towards it I felt my legs give out, making me collapse to the ground. My vision cut in and out for a few seconds as I felt someone shake me, “Hey kid you okay?” I looked up to see Qrow standing over me.  
“Yeah…I’m…I’m okay.” I replied standing up; I’m surprised I didn’t fall unconscious from how exhausted I felt…I hope I’m not getting use to collapsing. I looked over to see the tear was gone and there was no trace it had ever been there…even the memory of it being there felt hazy.  
“So you did have it in you.” Qrow commented and I chuckled.  
“Well I might have had it in me but just enough and that’s it.”  
“What did you think about when you opened it?”  
“Well I tried it on a whim but…I thought about Owen’s hideout. It was clear in my head when the portal opened.” …Maybe that’s why, “I think I couldn’t maintain the portal because I can’t handle instant teleportation.”  
“So you have to get better…that’s all there is to it.”  
“…No…that’s not good enough.” Qrow cocked his right eye brow at this, “Owen has been doing this for much longer than me…and the clock is still ticking…if I’m going to stop him then I need to find a loophole in this power.” Qrow stood up and began to stretch.   
“If you say so kid. Don’t rush into it though…from what I can gather this Owen guy is tough…and none of you are ready to take him on.” I clenched my fist at this comment, “Anyway I’ve got to go be a good uncle. See ya shrimp.” As he walked away I fell back onto the grass and took a deep breath; I knew he was right…and yet I know we can’t wait.  
“…‘sigh’ why am I caught in a terrible paradox?”  
“It’s because you’re an idiot.” I looked behind me to see Alice, Gareth and Lily approaching me, “But you always find a way out.” Getting up I chuckled.  
“Yeah, but only because you guys are there.” I replied, “So how did the match go?” Gareth put his arm over Lily with his usual big grin.  
“Lily kicked serious ass!” Gareth said making Lily blush.  
“She did, she was able to reduce someone’s aura from one hundred to zero in a few minutes.” Alice commented; Woah.  
“Nice job Lily, how did you do it?” Lily gave me a confident smile.  
“I found my resolve.” …cryptic.  
“Nice. How about you Alice?”  
“I tricked my enemy.” She said proudly.  
“Oh, so you used your ten second stare to your advantage?” She suddenly smacked me over the head.  
“You knew about that and you didn’t tell me!?”  
“Ow…I didn’t think about it until Qrow said something.” I replied rubbing my head, “Besides, you were able to make your enemy think you were giving away where you would attack. That’s impressive.”  
“W-Well thank you. How did the training go?”  
“I now know technique…and I figured out how to open portals.” They all gave a surprised gasp before crowding me.  
“So we can take on Owen now!?” Gareth asked.  
“N-Not yet. I can’t keep it open for more than a few seconds and even after I’m completely wiped.” I replied backing away from them.  
“So we can’t use it.” Lily said sounding disappointed.  
“Any idea what to do?” Alice asked and I nodded.  
“I can’t get a direct portal…but maybe if I can figure out a loophole to these portals then we’ll be able to use them to get out of here. I just need to figure it out.” I replied and Gareth gave a loud sigh.  
“So more waiting?”  
“Unfortunately. I promise you I’ll figure it out though. We’re going to stop him.”  
“I’m not doubting that.”   
“You’re not?”  
“Nah…just a little tired of sitting around. Especially with Lily going to the finals; means I’ve got nothing to do…maybe a sparring match would calm me down.” Gareth gave me a cocky smirk and I chuckled pulling out Twin Soul.  
“Then I’m game.” I replied as he pulled out his Earth Breaker.   
“Boys.” Alice said with a sigh stepping out of the way as Lily did the same. I dashed at Gareth ready to thrust…and collapsed into the grass feeling my body go slightly numb.  
“Soren?” Gareth asked looking over me. I chuckled before replying to him.  
“Maybe we should wait until feeling comes back into my body.”


	20. Chapter 20 (Semi-Finals)

With a crash into the ground I felt my mouth fill with dirt; I heard the ooohs and aaahs of team RWBY and JNPR as I got back up and spit out dirt…and a bone?

"I found Zwei's bone." I said holding it up the dirt covered bone. It was early in the morning and Qrow had woken us up to do some early morning training…and by training I mean getting our teeth kicked in by a man with a giant scythe; it was like fighting Ruby but an accelerated version with a blunter edge in language and a sharper edge with his scythe.

"You okay Soren?" Weiss asked as I stood up dusting my clothes off.

"I could be doing better, everything hurts." I replied as Gareth soared over me into the nearby pillar, "Any reason you're kicking us around like soccer balls Qrow?" I looked over to see he was picking his teeth.

"From what I've heard from your friends you guys just developed your aura this year."

"Yeah but so did Jaune," Alice said pointing to Jaune, "what's that got to do with anything?"

"Your auras are weak and undeveloped. I'm honestly surprised you made it this far with such abysmal levels." Qrow replied.

"We have been dodging most attacks thrown at us." Lily added; was she using her weapon as a walking stick.

"Your reflexes may be good but against someone like me you've been taking hit after hit. So far Gareth has been able to handle it the most." I looked back at Gareth to see he was walking up to us like nothing had happened.

"Yeah he's good at that." I said as he gave me a confused look, "So you're toughening us up?"

"Exactly, the more hits you can take the better you can retaliate."…

"What about a counter?" He gave a smirk, "During your fight with Winter I saw you double back the energy in your blow to her, you missed but created a crater where you hit."

"Well as much as I'm sure you want to give your enemies what they gave you only someone with a high tolerance for pain can handle doing that." As if by instinct all three of us turned to Gareth who chuckled.

"Yeah, I can take the hits." Gareth admitted.

"How about him?" Alice asked.

"Well if I'm going to be hurting your friend then that means training is over for the rest of you." Qrow said grabbing Gareth by the back of his collar, "Hope you're ready for a lot of pain."

"…Can I take back my offer?"

"Nope." Alice answered instantly and Qrow walked away with him…guess we're free for the rest of the day…at least until the finals, "So what now?" Ruby sped over and grabbed Alice's arm.

"Alice, come with me! We have to go see Penny."

"Penny? Didn't you see her yesterday?"

"Yeah but you didn't, come on!" With that Ruby started dragging off Alice and she gave a sigh following behind.

"Guess it's just you and me then Lily." I said turning to Lily who nodded in return, "Now what should we do?" Lily went into a look of thought as we both thought of what to do with the next few hours.

"W-Well there is something I'd like to do if that's okay?" Lily said.

"Sure, what do you want to do?"

"Um…does Vale have a jewelry shop?"

After wandering around town we eventually found one of their jewelry shops; Brightest Gems; I looked over to see Lily had an excited look in her eyes as we entered the shop.

"Wow, look at that ruby ring…and that emerald necklace. Is that actual diamond?"

"Probably not, at least not flawless diamond and if they do have it then it's going to be WAY too expensive." I said crouching next to Lily, "I never would have expected you to be in to jewelry."

"W-Well Alice first showed me some of her jewelry and I kind of liked it…I haven't really had much chance to look at jewelry so I thought maybe I'd try while we're here."

"Really? Alice? She always had this simple style to her."

"Yeah…but girls are girls."

"…Fair enough. So what's so interesting about jewelry?"

"Well I'm not going to deny that they're very beautiful stones but I enjoy looking at how flawless someone can make them…like right there," She pointed back to the emerald ring, "if you look hard enough you'll notice that there is small hazy areas in the stone. That shows it has a few flaws that could easily break the gem." With a sigh I pat her head.

"That's the Lily I know." I replied in relief.

Once Lily had finished looking at all the jewelry I decided to pick her up a small aquamarine necklace and we left the shop.

"Thanks Soren." Lily said, "I like the necklace."

"Well I guess every girl should have at least one piece of jewelry."

"Y-You're not a fan?"

"Nah, find it to be kind of…just not my cup of tea." I answered, "Speaking of, let's grab something to drink." Lily nodded and we headed for the nearby café. Sitting down we both enjoyed our drinks and watched people pass by on the street, "So are you nervous for the finals?"

"A little bit. There are a few people I'd rather not fight."

"Yang?"

"Y-Yeah." We chuckled at this and I took another sip of my milk coffee.

"So do you think Gareth is going to be okay?"

"Well it is Gareth. Knowing him he'll be fine. You know he once played tennis with the body builders at the gym?"

"You're talking about the hand slapping game tennis right?" She nodded and started giggling.

"He actually won."

"Was that the day he came in with a completely red hand?" She nodded still laughing and I joined her, "You know I've noticed that you hang out with Gareth more than anyone else. Mind telling me why?"

"Um…w-well…he's very optimistic. I'll admit that I'm kind of a downer some times and more than a little shy…but he's nothing like that. He's very cheerful and always ready to engage other people, it's nice to be around him."

"I'll admit that ever since we got out of the mushroom kingdom I've seen a whole other side to him; before he was cocky and confident but now he's optimistic and…more than a little adventurous. The same can be said about you and Alice though."

"Hm?"

"Well before you were somber and hesitant; now you're at least a little more talkative and confident in your abilities. Alice use to be cold and distant but now she's open and caring."

"Um…are you positive on that?"

"We could get into how we all act but we know each other deep down." She nodded in agreement and stared at me, "What?"

"…You've changed too."

"Not really."

"No, you definitely have. Even before I joined I always noticed that there were hints of hesitation in your eyes. When you fought back in Hyrule your pupils would shake; even in the Mushroom Kingdom it would happen…it wasn't until you got your memories back here that it disappeared. You also became more sure of yourself while here; I'd say you've changed a lot." …Lily.

"Thanks. That means a lot actually coming from you."

"Happy to help." We both chuckled as we enjoyed the moment and when we stopped I looked over at the street to see Alice standing there with Penny and Ruby.

"Interrupting something?" Alice asked and we both shook our heads.

"Just some chatter about the past." I answered and Lily nodded, "How are you guys?"

"We just wandered town for a bit."

"Did you visit a jewelry shop?" As I asked that Alice turned to Lily with a glare.

"You told him didn't you?" Lily only responded with a nervous giggle.

Gareth

"Gah!" I tumbled backwards and when I stopped I immediately got back on my feet and faced Qrow who was ready to attack again.

"Well, your friends weren't wrong; you're definitely more resilient than I expected you to be." I chuckled at his compliment and motioned him to hit me again. He dashed at me and thrust knocking me backwards again; okay…that one hurt more than before. I tried to stand but the minute I got on my feet I fell backwards onto my butt and felt my body sting and ache all over.

"There's my limit." I said as Qrow walked up to me.

"Well then this is going to be easier than I thought. What's with you kids?"

"We're…kids?"

"Very funny. Now it's time to learn how to hold in that pain."

"…What?"

"Think of it like taking all that pain and channeling it."

"I thought that was what we were doing?"

"I was testing your threshold for pain before. Now that you're used to it we're going to be doing a little bit of conditioning on absorbing a hit."

"What do you mean?"

"How do I put this?...You can take a hit but can you dish that hit back at double the power?" Ah, that makes sense.

"You bet I can!" I replied.

"We'll see about that." He pulled out his blade and I did the same with my axe, "Alright, I want you to channel the strength behind my attack and turn it back on me."

"Bring it!" He swung at me and I skid back from the blow and took a deep breath feeling the sting from the hit; gripping the handle I took a swing hitting Qrow and knocking him backwards; when I finished attacking I felt the pain intensify making me fall to the ground, "What the hell?"

"That's the full pain your feeling." Qrow answered helping me up, "Once you deal it back you're going to reel from the pain you absorbed."

"I thought I dealt it back."

"Well you actually only dealt back about one point two times the damage. If you really want to reduce that damage then you better be able to deal back more damage."

"Yeah…that figures."

"Now let's do that again." Again?

"Again?"

"Yeah, we're going to keep doing this until you can deal back at least double what I deal you." …This is going to be a long night.

Soren

"So Penny, how do you feel about being in the finals?" I asked as we sat down on the pier edge; Alice and I threw rocks and watched as they plopped into the ocean waters that crashed against the pier while Ruby and Penny were playing patty cake and Lily was watching with interest.

"It will be very fun to face fellow competitors in combat. I will enjoy learning from the experience." …sounds kind of like she's dodging an honest answer…but from what I know about this girl…it might actually be an honest answer, "Lily, I will enjoy facing you in combat should we cross blades."

"I-I hope we don't have to fight though." Lily replied sounding a little nervous.

"By the way, how's the whole portal thing been going Soren?" Ruby asked.

"Not as well as I'd like." I replied sighing.

"He tried ten different times this morning but was only able to open it two times," Alice answered, "He collapsed after each successful attempt as well so…"

"I had three breakfasts today."

"That explains the unusual shortage at breakfast. I thought Nora was unusually hungry."

"She still put a dent in breakfast though. Anyone else wonder where she puts it all away?" Everyone nodded.

"So…do we have a timeframe for when we can get the portal to work?" Lily asked and I thought for a minute; well I collapsed the first time and couldn't even move, then this morning I tried and felt my body give up along with my stomach, then the third time I still had trouble moving and needed another meal.

"…It's still going to be a few months." I answered sighing, "I wished there was some way to open a portal and then walk to our destination."

"…Really?" Alice asked confused.

"I feel like that would take less energy. It's not instant transportation so maybe it'll be better?"

"You don't sound so sure." Can't really be sure with this; even after all this time I still don't completely understand what a traveler is capable of, "I guess we can't really be sure can we?"

"W-We'll figure something out." Lily said obviously trying to cheer us up.

"Mind filling me in?" We all looked behind us to see Gareth standing there…with a VERY bruised face.

"Gah!" I yelled in shock, "What happened to you!?"

"You look like Rocky Dennis in mask." Alice said looking disgusted.

"You ever think too many people take pot-shots at Rocky?"

"Maybe but what else do you use!?" …I got nothing.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked standing up and touching his bruises as he chuckled.

"I'm fine. Just a little beat up."

"That's more than just 'a little'." I added, "So you can counter now?"

"Well- sort of. Qrow had to go see Ozpin so we had to cut training short."

"Wait…how can you 'sort of' counter?" Lily asked.

"I can't deal back double damage like him but I can do about one point five the damage."

"Do you know what that means?" Alice asked and Gareth shrugged.

"You can do the damage and then half of what that damage did." Lily answered.

"Still pretty impressive considering." I added standing up; I pulled out my scroll and checked the time, "The finals are in about an hour, should we head to the tournament hall?"

"That sounds sensational." Penny replied and Alice groaned.

"She's a sweet girl but the way she speaks sounds-"

"Kind of like a robot?" I finished and she gave me a surprised look, "What…did I say something wrong?"

"N-No…just didn't expect that is all? Let's go to the arena." …weird.

I sat down in the stands with the Alice, Gareth and Team RWBY as Lily, Penny and the other finalists lined up; I could see Sun and Pyrrha standing with the finalists along with a few other people; one of them was Mercury from Cinder's group and the others were part of teams I didn't recognize…must have stayed secret to protect their strategies.

"I hope Lily is in the first round." Gareth said handing me the popcorn; I looked over the group and noticed Pyrrha was looking a little hesitant for some reason…I hope she's not in the first round.

"It's the moment you've all been waiting for!" Port screamed over the intercom, "It's time for the one on one finals!" Cheers ran through the crowds around us as Gareth and Ruby screamed enthusiastically.

"Now let's begin the randomizer for the first match!" I looked up to see the pictures spinning around with the left landing on Lily; looks like she's up first; and the second landing on…someone named Kazuto.

"The first match will be Lily Tesit versus Kazuto Kirigaya!" …Constants and variables I guess.

Lily

"Lily Tesit versus Kazuto Kirigaya!" I looked over at the boy clothed in black as the others walked away from the center; Yang and Sun gave me looks of encouragement and Penny pat me on the back making me stumble slightly; strong girl. I turned to look at Kazuto who pulled out a black blade and approached me; I pulled my staff off of my back and approached him, we both stopped in the middle facing each other.

"Hey there, I should warn you that I'm not going to go easy on you." He replied making me shiver slightly; why did he say that, I'm more nervous than before now!

"W-Well I won't go easy either." …I hope.

"3." I extended my scythe and moved into position, "2." He crouched and held his sword back in a confident position, "1." Alright…deep breath Lily, "Begin!"

I took a step back and pulled out my rifle taking a few shots at Kazuto; as I shot at his head chest and legs he stayed in position and quickly swung his blade…knocking my bullets away!? Looks like I can't shoot him; switching back to scythe I dashed forward and swung at him as he blocked and weaved to dodge; he had a faster reaction time then I expected. Gripping my scythe I made a full spin knocking his blade off and made another quick spin hitting his chest and knocking him back; dashing forward I went for a piercing blow. He quickly rolled back and my scythe point hit the ground getting stuck; I flew back as he thrust his blade at me, tumbling into the ground I rolled back and got up as he grabbed my scythe and threw it at me; I can't catch that! Grabbing a vial of dust I swung creating a line of dust which I quickly solidified and created a fire staff which I grabbed and swung at my incoming weapon stopping it, picking it up I quickly blocked Kazuto's incoming blow and switched to staff knocking his sword up with one end and thrusting at his chest; he quickly swiped it away and I moved to hit his head with my other end at which he ducked and rolled backwards. As he rolled I spun my staff and switched to scythe mode swinging up and making him go flying up; got him! Jumping up I swung down sending him crashing into the ground; whew…guess I won; I looked up at the screen to see his aura was still at twenty percent…did it just go up to a hundred percent!?

"Looks like Kazuto semblance has finally kicked in." Oobleck said over the speaker; his semblance!? I looked over to see Kazuto standing up and dusting himself off as he pulled out a second blade, "Ladies and gentleman, this is Kazuto's second wind!"

"Do you just come back up?" I asked as he walked forward.

"I can use it once per battle, my aura goes back to full and my attacks are double powered for the rest of the fight." …uh oh. Suddenly he dashed forward and began swinging at me with both blades as I switched to staff and began blocking; I watched each of his strikes become slightly faster as he got into a pattern…he's doing what Gareth does! Before he could overwhelm me I switched to scythe and made a full spin knocking him back slightly and quickly hitting him with the staff end; before I could hit him he swung knocking my scythe down and swinging with the other blade knocking me backwards. Getting up I looked at my scroll to see I was at thirty percent; quickly switching to my rifle I started taking shots at him as he rushed at me, he was swiping each bullet away as he approached; alright let's switch it up then! Switching to dust rounds I shot it at him and as he swung to deflect it his blade was covered in ice making him stumble; moving in as he stumbled I thrust the staff at him, out of nowhere he dropped his blade and grabbed my staff before it hit his chest and pushed it to the side as he swung down directly on me; I don't have enough time to block! Suddenly time seem to stop as my eyes were glued to his blade; right…I don't have long; repositioning my staff in front of the blade I set my foot back down and readied myself as his blade hit the staff. I looked at Kazuto's face to see shock strewn across it as I pushed his blade away; feeling myself gain the upper ground I extended the scythe edged and spun around his blade catching it and sending it flying away as I scrapped the scythe along the ground making his ice covered blade go flying. With one final spin I caught Kazuto and swung sending him flying and crashing into the ground; as he stood up I switched to my rifle and took a shot as he turned and shot a pistol at me. There was a spark burst in the middle as the bullets hit each other and stopped; more accurate than I thought. As he shot I dashed around making sure not to stay in one place as I thought about how to approach him; every time he ran out in a clip he pulled out a second pistol and shot while he re-loaded the other one…maybe I should use his idea. Pulling my scythe back out I vaulted into the air and threw Reaper at Kazuto as he started shot at me; as a few bullets hit me I crashed to the ground and raised my head to see my scythe hit Kazuto and send him flying against the ring and crashing to the ground.

"And Kazuto is taken out by aura level and ring out!" Port yelled as I looked up to see my aura teetering at sixteen percent while Kazuto's was at zero; ahh…finally…that was way more hectic then I expected it to be for a moment. Feeling my legs give out I sat down and took a shuddering breath; I still had to do that two more times…at least it wasn't in a row.

"Lily!" I looked over to see Soren, Alice and Gareth running up to me, "You okay?"

"Yeah…just a little tired is all."

"You look completely exhausted." Alice said crouching to meet me at eye level.

"W-Well it wasn't easy."

"But you did awesome!" Gareth yelled, "First it looked like you were losing and then BAM! You completely flipped it around!"

"I-It's not that impressive." I replied feeling my cheeks heat up as he talked.

"You did do really well though." Soren said patting my head, "Come on, we'll help you up, they're still three more matches for today." Grabbing his and Gareth's hand I stood up and leaned on Gareth as we moved up to the stands; as we all sat down I took a few breaths waiting for the tension to wear off. As I sat there I watched as the randomization process happened; one picture landed on Yang while the other…landed on Mercury Black.

Soren

"Yang Xiao Long wins!" Oobleck yelled as we all cheered; man Yang pulled that victory out of the smoke screen and beat Mercury into the dust with it! I watched Yang and Mercury remain stationary for a moment as the crowd cheered; …something seems wrong; suddenly Yang turned around and shot a round from her gauntlet into Mercury's knee; on my god!

"What the hell!?" Alice yelled as we all stood up in surprise; did Yang just seriously do that, I mean she's a wild girl but she would never do that! We watched as the Atlas forces surrounded Yang and told her to stand down as she looked around confused; Mercury was moaning and groaning in pain as Emerald sat next to him sounding worried and looking the same by her face. As Yang was taken away by Atlas forces and Mercury was taken away by the medics we all looked at each other; some of us with looks of surprise and others with looks of worry and disbelief. I looked down at Yang as she was moved away from the ring to see the same look of disbelief on her face…what just happened?


	21. Chapter 21 (The beginning of the end)

I stood outside team RWBY's room as Ironwood spoke to the team about Yang's…transgression during her match with Mercury; they were unable to finish the other two matches after that but everyone was too busy talking about what happened during the match. It was on news broadcasts, internet forums and newspapers; everyone seemed to be casting doubt on not only Yang but Beacon as a whole.

"What happened?" Alice asked in complete confusion, "She just shot Mercury point blank in the leg."

"Yang wouldn't do that." Gareth added, "She's hot headed but not sadistic. I know that better than anyone."

"…It doesn't seem right." Lily said, "Something doesn't feel right about the whole thing."

"I know what you mean." I added, "We all know Yang, she's not a sociopath and she can't fake her emotions…whatever happened was definitely fishy." As we all absorbed what I had just said Ruby, Weiss and Blake walked out of their room as Ironwood and his men walked away.

"How is she?" Gareth asked and I looked to see Jaune and his team had walked out of their room.

"She's…doing the best she can." Blake answered with a somber look on her face; guess that means no.

"I heard Mercury and his team rushed back to Haven to be with his family," Ruby said, "so, until they land, no one can really question him about what happened."

"If there's anything we can do," Ren started, "please don't hesitate to ask."

"Same here." I added.

"Alright then…if that's the case…Pyrrha, Lily, make sure to win one for Beacon." Lily gave a nod.

"I'll…do my best." Pyrrha said.

"I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked Pyrrha."

"Sorry, but I think I've had enough fighting for one year." Blake said.

"Ditto." Weiss added, "Coffee?"

"Tea."

"Mind if I come along? I could use some coffee." Alice said walking with them.

"I need to talk to Ozpin so I'll meet up with you guys after the match." I said.

"You think it'll take that long?" Gareth asked.

"Probably, I have a few questions I need answered and they aren't easy."

"Isn't that how it usually is?" Lily asked and I chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll be back by bed time though."

"We'll go ahead and go with Ruby to the arena." Gareth said, "Someone should help Ruby cheer Pyrrha on."

"Okay, I'll see you guys later." With that we separated as I headed for Ozpin's office and they followed Ruby and the others; I really hope my hunch is wrong.

Alice

I sat next to Weiss and Blake at the crowded café and took a sip from my cup; slumping down I took a deep breath thinking about what Ruby asked me before…if I really did just come from my world then why was I walking? Maybe I should consider myself lucky and just take it as it is…but it makes me worried…and doubt Mary; was she just manipulating my illness to use me…and what did that mean for Lily, Gareth and Soren? …Damnit why can't I contact her!

"Are you okay Alice?" Weiss asked and I sat up.

"…No, it feels like someone is manipulating this entire situation and I don't like it…I don't like to be toyed with." I answered feeling my hand suddenly get wet; looking at it I saw my nails had punctured my coffee cup.

"Careful. What do you mean?"

"Ruby asked me something back from before we were hunting for information on Torchwick. She asked why I could walk in this world if I just came from my own world where I couldn't and I didn't have an answer. Thinking about it…it feels all too coincidental; I'm only able to walk when Mary sends us to another world…like she's manipulating the whole thing. Like how the situation with Yang feels bigger than we think."

"I know what you mean." Blake said taking a sip of her tea, "When something lines up a bit too perfectly it feels wrong. Yet you can't figure out why." She clenched her fist, "It's infuriating. Unable to grasp the truth of a situation." …Wait…when I was put into the infirmary…they would have done a full check-up…! Quickly getting up from my seat I slammed the amount I owed onto the table and rushed out of the doorway; I could hear Blake and Weiss calling for me as I ran down the street towards the school.

Lily

As we stood in line to get onto the ship to the Vytal arena I looked over noticing Sun walk by as Velvet took a picture; we all moved over to her and she turned around giving us a gentle smile.

"Ruby, Gareth, Lily. How nice to see all of you."

"Good to see you as well." I replied, "What are you doing?"

"Working on my photography." She answered showing us a picture of Sun holding his weapon…except his head was out of frame.

"That's…good." Ruby lied.

"Could be better." Gareth added and I nudged him making him shrug.

"I heard about what happened to Yang. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. She's still taking it pretty hard." Ruby answered.

"It happens all the time. Some people start to lose it and then start seeing thing." what?

"What do you mean?" Gareth asked sounding suddenly interested.

"The same thing happen to Cocoa. She swears she saw Yatsuhashi with her in the forest but he never made it out of the geyser fields." …That's strange…wait…that was the match against Mercury and Emerald…and this one was against Mercury…something is definitely wrong there; both cases of hallucination happened when it involved Mercury…could he have done something? No…I'm jumping to conclusions…Mercury is a friend…I hope, "Is…something wrong Lily?"

"Oh! N-No…just a bit spacy is all." I replied with a chuckle…I'm sure I'm wrong.

Soren

Riding the elevator up to the top floor it opened to reveal Ozpin pacing back and forth across the room; stepping into the room he stopped and took a drink from his mug.

"Good to see you Soren."

"Good to see you as well Ozpin." I replied and he moved to sit down at his desk, "There's something I need to know about the match between Yang and Mercury Black."

"As much as I would like to help you Soren I'm afraid the footage was confiscated by Ironwood."

"Damn it! Then can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"When you watched the match did you notice anything…shift?" He cocked his left eye brow, "Like something didn't seem right with what we saw…like it wasn't real."

"Soren…I can assure you that what we saw was one hundred percent real. Yang Xiao Long hit a defenseless Mercury Black on the ground." …That…that can't be right, "However-" huh, "what they saw…could have been completely different." !?

"…So you don't think she would do that either."

"…Soren if I had believed she could have been capable of such acts…I would not have let her enroll in my school." I've been here almost a year and I've seen Ozpin multiple times in that year… I know he's right about that

"Right…it's still- I-…I don't know what to think." Stepping forward I took a seat in front of his desk.

"If you would like you are welcome to watch the Vytal tournament match with me." …I can't be alone with my thoughts right now.

"Thanks, I'll take you up on that offer."

Alice

Once on campus I bolted across the courtyard; through the mess hall and pass the dorms until I came to the schools personal infirmary, opening up the door I looked around at the darkened halls and dimly lit corridors, the only sound was the wind and flickering of lights. Stepping in I walked to the front desk and rang the small bell; it echoed out but nobody seem to hear it as I stood there alone; so she's waiting for me. Walking past the front desk I passed by empty rooms that were covered in darkness and looked down the hall seeing one room brightly lit from the hallway; opening the door I could see a girl with brown hair sitting near the window looking wistfully out towards the headmasters building.

"Well it's good to see you found me." She said looking at me with a smile.

"You couldn't expect to hide forever could you?" I replied stepping towards her.

"No, didn't think I would have to."

"…So why did you Mary?" A moment of silence followed as her hair turned from brown to green.

"…It's good to see you again Alice."

"So this is where you've been? Posing as a nurse at the infirmary?"

"Yes, but not for as long as you think I have; only after Soren got you sent here."

"You mean after that shapeshifter got me sent here."

"R-Right."

"You needed to hide my medical records didn't you?"

"No…just alter them slightly."

"…Mary, what did you do to me?"

"…I…I essentially cured you. I caused the virus that attack you to remain dormant indefinitely, so you could move to your hearts content." …Damn you.

"So you toyed with me?"

"No! I swear I never meant to-"

"Never meant to what!? Toy with my emotions!? Give me what I've dreamed of for so long and then tear it away when I did what you needed!? You even had the nerve to make me feel like I was becoming stronger!"

"Alice please-"

"Do you know what it's like to look at the outside world, at your friends and think, 'I want to be there, I want to be next to them'…and not be able to…it hurts…a lot."

"…There was a reason I did that."

"Then tell me…because I'm sick of standing next to my friends and then lying down in weakness before them."

"…It's not right."

"What?"

"Alice, your weakness is why you can become so strong. Regardless of why I've asked for your help…and what you feel you deserve there's something more important to realize. THIS, is your obstacle to overcome; just like Soren, Gareth or Lily you must overcome your own world problems in order to become stronger. I cannot give you what you want…because what you want you have to grasp and work for on your own." As she spoke I felt my knees buckle from her words and I collapsed onto the nearby bed looking at the ceiling.

"So…even after this I'll still be stuck in that hospital bed?" I felt the bed creak and looked to see Mary had taken a seat.

"I guess that all depends on you. Are you willing to give up now?" I chuckled at her question.

"No, I made a promise. It's just hard to hear is all…I won't stop now though." Taking a deep breath I sat up and looked at Mary, "So how about telling me why you haven't contacted us in months."

"I would have but…I think you can blame Soren for that."

"What do you mean?"

"I would have brought him back when his memory returned but…he cares about his friends here." What?

"…What do you mean by that?"

"…I've kept Soren's memory of this world in the dark even after his memory returned."

"Mary, what's going to happen?"

"I knew that if he remembered that he would be consumed to save them."

"Mary! What is going to happen!?" Mary picked up the remote and pointed it at the nearby screen turning on the live feed of the tournament.

"Tonight's match is Pyrrha Nikos versus Penny Polendina." …!

"No. No they can't fight." Getting up I moved towards the screen, "If Pyrrha isn't careful then- I've got to stop this!"

"3…2…1…begin!" Rushing out the door I looked at the sky seeing the Vytal coliseum in the air; damn it I can't get up there…but they're up there. Pulling out my scroll I hastily dialed Gareth and waited as it rang…come on…come on…

"Alice? What's up?"

"Gareth! You have to stop that match now!"

"What? Why-"

"I can't get into all the details but you have to get them to stop now!"

"On it!" Hanging up my scroll I bolted for the headmaster's office; please still be there Soren.

Gareth

As Alice hung up I turned to Lily who had a worried look on her face.

"We need to stop this match right now." I explained and she gave me a surprised look, "Where's Ruby?" I looked over to see Ruby wasn't in her seat anymore…she wasn't with us at all.

"She was sitting right here." Lily said in shock; where did she go? No time to worry about that. Standing up I looked around looking for some way up to the announcers booth; the shield was up so we couldn't jump down and stop them and everyone was too loud for us to shout at them.

"Where would we be able to get up to where Port and Oobleck are?"

"It's probably past the employees only doors."

"Good thinking. Come on!" Grabbing Lily's hand we bolted past people receiving complaints and sneers until we came to the stairs and climbed them heading into the concession area; looking around I felt Lily tap my shoulder and point to a door behind the popcorn vendor. Moving over the counter I pushed open the door as the person at the stand tried to stop me; pushing him back I ran down the hallway looking for a door to the announcer booth. Lighting…no, camera set up…no, auditorium booth there we go! Busting open the door I was met with shocked looks from Oobleck and Port.

"Young man what are you-"

"No time!" Lunging forward I grabbed Port's mic. I looked down to see Penny had launched blades at Pyrrha and she was reeling back to use her semblance at full force; the blast sent the swords flying backwards, "STOOOOPPPP!" With my scream the force of the blast seem to weaken; good. I looked down in shock as Penny's left arm squished and was suddenly severed from her body…revealing… wires and metal!? Different gasps and shocked sounds came from the crowd as Penny stood there clutching her now open arm as she stepped back from Pyrrha who looked completely horrified.

"What?" I heard Lily as she stood next to me obviously shocked; Penny was a robot? Is that why Alice wanted me to stop the match? What in the hell is going on!?

Soren

Both Ozpin and I stood in surprise as Penny's metal arm was severed from her body; what just happened, first there fighting and then I hear Gareth shout over the intercom and then Penny's arm is ripped from its place revealing wires and metal. Suddenly the fed cut out to just show a black queen chess piece with a red background; what's going on!? We both looked over at the evelevator door as it opened and revealed Alice standing there.

"Alice!?"

"Soren, thank god you're here. What happened?"

"Penny and Pyrha were fighting and then Gareth shouted. Next thing we're looking at is Penny losing her arm."

"She's still alive right?" I nodded and she took a deep breath, "That's good. He made it in time."

"Miss Blair what is happening?" Ozpin asked and suddenly a voice came from the screen.

"This is not a tragedy." Whose voice is that, "This was not an accident." Wait…, "This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children to men who claim to be our guardians but are, in reality, nothing more than men." I know that voice, "Our academies headmasters wield more power than most armies and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace and yet, what do we have here? One nations attempt at a synthetic army, almost destroyed by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the grim could tell the difference; and what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching HIS students; first a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy…yet I have witnessed neither." Cinder, "Perhaps Ozpin felt defeating Ozpin in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the grim invaded its streets or perhaps…this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly? I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong but I know that the existence of peace is fragile and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you; the situation there is…equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are at the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you…when the first shots are fired…who do you think you can trust?" With that the screens cut out in harsh static.

"What's going on?" I said to no one in particular taking in the words I just heard; I turned to Ozpin who had gripped his fists tightly. I turned to Alice who looked equally confused and scared and out of nowhere a siren began to echo in the distance.

Gareth

A siren began to sound as everyone in the crowd looked scared and distrustful; fear was fresh in their eyes and from what I could tell the woman on the end of that broadcast didn't make it any better. I heard foot steps behind me and looked to see Ironwood approaching us; he grabbed the mic from my hand and began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please! There is no need for panic." As soon as he said that a giant nevermore screeched and we looked up to see it was on top of the stadium trying to break through the field.

"I'd say that's a pretty good reason to panic!" I yelled as I pulled out my scroll to call my locker; as soon as I put in the location I beckoned to Lily and we rushed out the door towards the coliseum; like hell I was letting it hurt anyone.

Soren

As we watched the grim flood in I heard footsteps behind me and looked to see Glynda and Qrow behind us.

"Oz!" Qrow said and Ozpin turned with a serious look on his face.

"Get to the city! NOW!" With that Qrow and Glynda rushed to the elevators and as they entered I heard a scroll ring; Ozpin reached into his pulling it out; there was a moment of silence as Alice and I waited, "You brought your army to my kingdom James. Use it." He then turned to both of us, "Soren, Alice, find Pyrrha and bring her here as quickly as possible."

"Pyrrha? But-"

"Do it!" He spoke with such authority that both Alice and I nodded before stepping into an open elevator; I turned around to Ozpin, "You want to know what's happening? The beginning of the end." With those words the elevator door closed shut and we descended towards the grim infested streets.


	22. Chapter 22 (Struggle)

Lily and I quickly jumped down into the arena as Pyrrha stood there dumfounded while Penny couldn't even move; grabbing Pyrrha I motioned over to Penny and Lily gave me a nod heading over to her.

"Gareth?" Pyrrha said confused as I tried to get her up.

"Pyrrha get up. That thing is about to break in and it's not safe here." Damn it where's my locker!? I looked over to Lily to see she was having trouble getting Penny up; she must weigh a ton and a half. I looked up to see the nevermore was still hacking away at the barrier until suddenly it dissipated. The beast crashed down in between us and Lily and Penny; I can't attack without a weapon…guess I've got to try! Pooling my defensive strength into my power I rushed forward and jumped up; with all my force I punched the creature directly in the beak hearing a small crack and watched as it recoiled shaking its head around.

"Ah!" I fell to the ground feeling my hand sting and pulse, "That hurt…a lot." I looked up to see it was eyeing me, "You want me? Come and get me!" As it came in to attack suddenly it shrieked; I looked to see Ruby had plunged one of Penny's blade into its neck before landing next to me, "Ruby?"

"Leave them alone!" She screamed as it lunged at her before being stopped by a locker crashing into its head.

"There it is." I said chuckling as I stood up; the locker opened to reveal Earth Breaker and my shotgun. As I moved to grab my weapons the nevermore tried to stand back up; it was then barraged by a bunch of lockers slamming into every part of it making it go limp. The lockers opened to reveal all of our friends and allies weapons; from team PINK to Rean, Alisa and Kazuto; they all stood on top of the grim confidently as Lily and I grabbed our weapons.

"Wait-" Lily started, "Shouldn't the grim have-" Before she could finish I felt myself rise and looked to see the grim was still kicking; jumping down I pointed my shotgun directly at its face and took a shot as Lily used her scythe to hold up his head; from the air both Rean and Kazuto swung down removing the nevermore's head from its body as it faded away. Taking a quick breath I looked over at Penny to see her stumbling over to Pyrrha.

"Penny…I…I'm so sorry." Pyrrha choked out through tears, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Are you alright Pyrrha?" Penny asked, "I hope you are unharmed."

"But…your arm." Penny looked over at her arm before reaching out her hand to Pyrrha.

"It is all right. This is not your fault."

"She's right." Jaune said stepping forward as Pyrrha got up, "Whoever was on the microphone, they're the ones that did this and we have to make sure they don't take anyone." With those words Pyrrha grabbed her weapons and stood up confidently. I looked up to see grim starting to fly over and into the arena; this is going to be one intense fight.

"Sun, I need to borrow your scroll." Sun tossed Ruby his scroll and she pointed it forward to where a locker soon crashed revealing her Crescent Rose; as she rushed to it a Griffon landed on top of her locker and roared at her, before I could take a shot another bullet hit the creature making it fly off. We all looked behind to see Port and Oobleck standing holding their respective weapons.

"Students. I think it would be best for you to leave." Port said in a much more serious tone.

"But we can fi-"

"Miss Rose," Oobleck interrupted, "this day will surely go down in Remnant's history. I would prefer it if my students live to tell about it." With a nod Ruby grabbed her scythe.

"Let's go!"

"Don't have to tell us twice." I replied dashing towards the outside of the coliseum.

Lily

As soon as we made it to the outer area we saw people being loaded onto the airships by Atlas military; I looked behind me to see Penny being helped by Ruby and moved over to assist her, I placed my hand on Penny's back on one side as Ruby held her arm on the other.

"Thank you both." She said as we walked, "I'm sorry that I caused such a problem."

"You didn't Penny." Ruby said.

"She's right." I added, "Nobody expected this to happen."

"How did the grim come so close to the city so fast though?" She had a point; it seemed way too quick for such a large hoard of grim…wait.

"What if they started traveling yesterday?" They both gave me a look of confusion, "W-Well let's think about what happened yesterday. Yang's match causes confusion and fear in people-"

"Which attracts the grim." Ruby said in shock and realization, I nodded in response.

"So this match was the final push?" Penny asked and I nodded.

"They set this whole thing up to let the grim invade Vale?" Gareth asked approaching us, "But what could they gain from invading Vale?"

"Well one of the main communication towers is set up here." Penny said.

"And?" Gareth.

"You didn't pay attention in class?" I asked and he chuckled, "If one of the towers go out then all communication goes down across the kingdom."

"Wouldn't it take something really powerful to take out those towers though?" Ruby asked.

"There's strength in numbers." Gareth said, "They must be going for the brute destruction tactic." So the entire city is overrun with grim right now…that's probably enough grim to take down the tower. Suddenly I heard gun shot and looked to see Ironwood standing over a disappearing grim corpse.

"What's going on?" Gareth asked approaching Ironwood.

"Grim are crawling all over the city." Ironwood answered, "The White Fang has invaded Beacon and to make matters worse some-…vagabond has seized one of my ships." He held back for that word, "Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm-" Ironwood quickly drew his gun and shot behind us taking out a grim creep, "-going to take it back." Ironwood began to climb back onto his ship; what now?

"What should we do?" Jaune asked and Ironwood turned back to him.

"You have two choices: defend your kingdom and your school…or save yourselves." We all looked at each other with worried faces, "No one will fault you if you leave. Let's move out!" With those final words Ironwood boarded his ship leaving us to think about our next move. In the silence I heard Gareth's boot steps as he walked towards and unmanned ship.

"I don't know about you guys but I've still got Alice and Soren down there. I'm not going anywhere without my team." He reached out his hand to me and I gave a confident nod before grabbing it and moving next to him.

"I-I'm not about to let the grim take this place from us!" I said, "I'm going to protect it!" Others gave confident nods before joining us, "So what's the plan Gareth?"

"Get to Beacon, find Soren and Alice; stop the grim invasion." He answered as Pyrrha and Ren moved towards the ship controls, "Knowing them that's exactly what they're doing." As the ship took off I heard a ring come from my scroll and pulled it out.

"It's Soren."

Soren

Hacking through the last grim I took a few heavy breaths collapsing to the ground; Alice and I had effectively cleared out the courtyard of the Beowolves and Ursa after we exited the elevator but it took a lot longer than we anticipated.

"We need to call Lily and Gareth." Alice said panting, "They went up to see the match so they're probably with Pyrrha right now." I gave a nod and pulled out my scroll dialing up Lily; it rang for a few seconds before a voice came on the other end.

"Soren?" Lily's voice thank god.

"Lily, are you and Gareth okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're with everyone else right now coming down to Beacon, where are you guys?"

"No time, I need you-" Suddenly a grim lunged at me and Alice sliced it away, "-to tell Pyrrha to get to professor Ozpin's office as soon as she lands."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure but Ozpin asked me to bring her to him. It's very important."

"Okay. Now where are you-" Suddenly the phone was shot out of my hand landing on the ground a few feet away; I looked over to see a group of Atlas drones pointing guns at us.

"I don't think those are our friends anymore." Alice said as they started firing.

"I think I'll agree with you on this one." I replied as we ducked behind the fountain.

"You got a plan?"…

"Nope." She tossed me a dust clip and I quickly clicked it into my pistol.

"Just don't die then." I nodded and we rushed out as they shot at us; ducking and weaving I took shots at them hitting a few with lighting dust shots making the short circuit and fall to the ground. I looked over to see Alice was taking them out with lightning dust waves from her blades effectively taking out a circle of them. When I looked back I saw the Atlas soldiers had been replaced with White Fang members all holding a crude blade or gun; I switched to ice dust and shot at their feet making them unable to move as I swung my blades with all my strength knocking them back and out. Taking a breath I looked to see Alice had taken out her share of the enemies and I looked to the sky seeing a ship land near the school port.

"That must be Gareth, Lily and the others." Suddenly I heard a far off scream and looked up to see a ship beginning to crash above us; I looked over at Alice who sighed before giving me a smile.

"I'll get Pyrrha to Ozpin; you go see if you can save those on the ship." I nodded and rushed towards the crash site as Alice moved to the port.

As I dashed towards the plane I passed by the cafeteria; I looked in and immediately stopped seeing Blake going up against a masked man with a crimson blade, as I rushed in I felt a hand grip my wrist.

"Sorry but you're not doing that." I looked behind me in shock seeing Jarek looking me in the eye; he tightened his grip and sent me flying into the nearby field tumbling into the dirt and grass, I stood up and looked at him as he pulled out his great sword.

"What are you doing here?" I asked pulling out Twin Soul.

"Come on, you expected us NOT to show up?" I hoped for it.

"Damn it I don't have time to deal with you!" I yelled dashing at him and swinging as he blocked, "My friends are in danger! All you're doing is stopping me from saving my friends!"

"Well somebody has to." Bastard! Swinging at his openings I struck him multiple times before kicking him away, "So it's true…you did become stronger." He stood back up chuckling; I walked away heading back for the cafeteria but was stopped as a whip suddenly coiled around me and pulled me backward; my spine collided with his foot before I was pushed down into the grass, "That doesn't mean we're done!" quickly repositioning my blade I pushed the whip out and slid out; rolling forward I stood up and pointed my blast pistol at Jarek.

"As much as I would love to deal with your crap I don't have time! My friends are in trouble and you're not stopping me from helping them!" He gave me a skeptical look before laughing; what was wrong with him?

"He was right. You are prdictable." What? No, can't worry about that right now.

"Now's not the time." As I turned around again I saw his great sword resting on my shoulder.

"I told you before; I'm not letting you do that!" Ducking down I rolled to the side and switched to blade staff and thrust at Jarek as he dodged and blocked; pulling my stun pistol out I thrust forward and as I knocked his blade away I put my pistol directly on his chest and took a shot making him lock up and stiffen, "You'll be stuck for about thirty seconds." Unloading the rest of my shots directly in his arm I put another clip in and shot him again, "Now it's about six minutes." I turned around going back to Blake but felt another pull at my leg; I turned around to see the whip had coiled around my leg with Jarek pulling at it.

"Sorry but-" He pulled sending me falling on my back, "-that won't work on me." …Damn it fine! I got back on my feet and pulled my blades back out moving into my stance.

"Fine, I'll take you out!"

Alice

As I approached the docks I saw everyone walking off and in the back was Gareth and Lily who were helping Penny off the ship; I looked around noticing that Ruby wasn't with the group, where did she go?

"Alice." I turned hearing my name and looked to see Lily and Gareth had come up to me, "Where's Soren?"

"He went to go help a crash, how is Penny?" I looked at her arm socket to see wires still sparking.

"I am just fine, do not worry about me." Penny replied.

"We'll get her some electrical tape or something to cover that up." Gareth said and Penny nodded.

"Where's Pyrrha?" Lily pointed and I followed it to see team JNPR huddled together and looking around.

"Do you need us to come with you?" Lily asked and I shook my head.

"Stay with Penny and the others. Watch out for the Atlesian knights; they've gone a bit haywire."

"How haywire?" Gareth asked.

"Shoot you haywire."

"Alright then."

"We'll be careful." Lily said and I nodded before heading over to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, the headmaster wants you to come to his office."

"Now?" Jaune said surprised, "This doesn't seem like the best time to be seeing the principle."

"Alright." Pyrrha answered.

"Come on." Pyrrha followed behind as I led her to the headmasters building; I looked behind me to see Jaune following us as well; guess he's worried…I would be too…I kind of am. Turning a corner I saw grim approach us and pulled out my katana slicing them as I dashed through them; when I stopped I looked back to see all the grim begin to disappear and at the end was Pyrrha and Jaune looking at me…in shock? I looked to my left to see…me standing there in the same position; I jumped back keeping my hand on my blade as I got up and looked me in the eye.

"Is that how you look at yourself?" She said.

"Who are you?" I asked coldly giving her an intimidating glare, "Because you aren't me."

"True but then again I'm not here for you." I saw her shift her gaze to Pyrrha and Jaune and dashed in front of them holding Enchantress in a defensive stance.

"I don't know what you're planning but I'm not letting you get away with it."

"Figures."? My voice…it's echoing another voice in the back…that's a male's voice…no way. Stepping forward I swung at my stomach; the body glowed before turning into two people, Denys and Penny, the Gemini twins.

"She figured us out." Denys said holding up his cleaver.

"No matter." Penny replied holding her javelin at her side, "She still won't stop us."

"That's what you think." I replied, "What are you doing here?"

"Our job." They replied at the same time, "We're making Cinder's job easier and getting rid of the one little issue she's would have to deal with." Pyrrha?

"Pyrrha, I'm not entirely sure what they're talking about but I'm going to keep them at bay. You head for the building. I'll keep the diabolical duo at bay."

"But we can take them out together." Pyrrha offered.

"I know you want to help but something is happening and I'm guessing we don't have a very long time to do this. Go! I can handle these two." Jaune put his hand on Pyrrha shoulder and she gave him a nod.

"Be careful Alice." Jaune said as they passed by us; Denys and Penny moved to attack them but I quickly dashed and divereted their weapons.

"Your fight is with me not them!"

"You can't beat us." Penny replied.

"You couldn't beat Damien and that was all four of you." Denys finished.

"That was Damien. I'm not losing here."

"Neither are we." They replied. I gave them a confident glare.

"Then this is going to be a long fight."

Gareth

Approaching the schools main building we separated from the main group who went to take on the grim; we went into the nearby classroom and I shuffled through the desks looking for something to cover Penny's arm hole.

"I'll see if I can find some gauze in the battle arena classroom." Lily said heading off as I found Port's drawer of confiscated items; wait…that means…yes found it! Pulling out the electrical tape and copper wiring I moved over to Penny.

"Lucky for you Nora tried to harness a ball of electricity for her semblance by creating sparks and wrapping it in electrical tape." I said beginning to cover the whole with line of tape.

"What happened?" Penny asked.

"She…set her desk on fire. It was awesome." The door opened and Lily came in with a bunch of medical supplies; she wrapped the gauze around the tape as an extra layer and we sat as Penny took a minute to collect herself.

"Are you doing better Penny?" Lily asked and Penny nodded.

"My functions are back to optimal capacity. Shall we go help the others?" Penny tried to stand up but I put my hand on her shoulder helping her sit back down.

"You stay here. I'm guessing you're a few swords short and a few sensors loose." I said pointing to her missing arm, "For now just rest. We'll go help the others."

"Sorry but that's not happening." That voice! Pulling my axe out I immediately looked at the door to see Damien standing there with a cocky grin, "I think you're going to have your hands preoccupied with me."

"Not if I take you out now!" I immediately rushed him and swung down; he morphed around the axe blade as it collided with the floor making a dent; pulling my axe out I looked over to see he had gone into the hallway and was running towards the battle classroom; he's not getting away! I dashed after him and burst open the doors to see Damien waiting in the ring; he beckoned me down and I was more than happy to oblige as I jumped into the pit and swung at Damien as he dodged and morphed around my blade.

"Still so hostile I see. I figure you would have gotten better and faster when we met again. I want a challenge!" He wants a challenge; fine! Pooling my accuracy into my speed I took another swing and was lucky enough to hit him as he went soaring into the wall.

"How's that for a challenge?" I replied confidently and he gave out a hysterical laugh.

"Yes! That's more like it! Now THIS is a challenge!" He stood up pulling out his dual short swords, "Now let's start the fun."

Lily

"Not if I can help it!" Gareth bolted off going after Damien.

"Gareth wait!" I called out as he ran after Damien moving out of earshot; he's not coming back anytime soon. I turned back to Penny who was sitting calmly looking confused.

"Who was that man?"

"I'll explain later. Stay here Penny. I'll be back for you later." She nodded and I pulled out my scythe switching to staff mode as I rushed after Gareth; if Damien can still morph his form then Gareth is going to have a difficult time fighting him. As I approached the door to the arena I pushed only to find it was blocked; no, I can't get in…no…there's a door from the locker room into the arena I…I just have to pass through the courtyard. Moving over I headed into the courtyard and passed through the grassy areas towards the locker room; out of the corner of my eye I saw a large knife coming towards me, stopping in my tracks I back stepped and watched as it still hurled towards me. I looked to see it was attached to a chain and moved my staff pushing the chain so it deviated and wrapped around Reaper. Unhooking it I watched as the knife was pulled back by the chain; I looked at the person holding it and was shocked to see Sukia holding it.

"Hello Lily." She said stepping forward with a stoic look on her face; even if she was using my body she looked vastly different from me, her eyes were sharper and more experienced and she wore her hair much longer than mine with it reaching her waist level. She wore different clothing then me with a skirt and knee high socks as well as sneakers and a white shirt with a red jacket; she definitely did her part to distinguish herself from me.

"Hello Sukia." She sighed and held her knives up pointing at me.

"…I'm sorry…I have to do this." …I moved my scythe into position and adjusted my stance.

"…I know…and I'm sorry to fight you." As she moved into her stance the ground gave a small shake, "what was that?"

"…It's what we were waiting for." Sukia said and suddenly I heard the sound of something being destroyed; looking over at where it came from I was surprised to see Mountain Glenn with a giant hole…and a grim dragon roaring from where the opening was. As I watched the dragon fly towards us I had a feeling of pure dread overwhelm me to the point I couldn't see her leg as it moved to strike me until it was too late.


	23. Chapter 23 (Failure)

I looked up in pure shock as a grim dragon soared over head; wait…I've seen this before, this isn't the first time I've felt this way and looked at this scene…ngh, my head!

"Come on, can you go one meeting without looking like you've gone through hell?" Jarek said in a mocking tone. Turning my attention back to Jarek I took a swing noticing he was too close to me; dashing in I swung my left blade which he blocked and immediately swung my right blade aiming for his side. He took the hit and back stepped giving me a scowl, "Is that really all you've got?" What, "I'm not one of your stupid friends, how about you stop playing around and actually hit me with everything you've got!" Damn…I looked behind me to see Blake struggling with her assailant.

"Fine then!" I replied switching to my longsword form; dashing forward I thrust into him sending him flying backwards.

"I said hit me! You're going to insult me by just bruising me." He stood up giving me a dirty look, "I don't have an aura like you do so I should have spilled blood."

"You're right." I replied sheathing my blade, "As much as I would love to indulge you though I have more important things to do."

"And I told you-" He said running at me, "-that's not going to- ngh!" As expected he collapsed to the ground unable to move, "What…in the…hell?"

"You we're right when you said I didn't have to hold back, so I used a full paralysis strike to completely incapacitate you."

"You had this power?"

"I've been a bit more resourceful since I got my memory back. I've been buying blunt rounds and just using my paralysis magic in light doses on my bullets. Gave me a chance to work on my paralysis skill and make it stronger. I'm going to assure you that at full power you're not going to be moving for a while." He looked up at me with a scowl and I turned to walk away.

"You coward." He said as I walked away, "You're the weaker of us! I'm not afraid to take out who I have to while you just run when you have the upper hand. You're afraid to kill!" …

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I am afraid to kill…but I'm not in this to prove my strength, I'm going to protect people's hopes, dreams and purposes; killing others is taking that away from them."

"Well my purpose is to become stronger…and to do that I'm going to take out anyone I have to. That includes my other…YOU!"

"…I'd say find a new purpose then…or find a different way to follow it." With those final words I rushed towards the cafeteria drowning out Jarek's voice as he screamed at me.

Alice

Blocking both attacks with my dual katanas I pushed their weapons back and made a full spin pushing both of them back; putting my katanas back together I pulled out my mini-gun and shot at Denys and followed as he circled back to Penny. Penny grabbed his hand and they rolled together turning into a bright light; when it died Gareth was standing in front of me.

"Hey Alice, what's happening?" He said with a giant grin; I narrowed my eyes and dashed slashing at him as he blocked with his axe.

"Don't think you can use the same trick twice." I said dashing forward and taking quick strikes at him.

"You might be right about that but I do have a neat little feature." He was dodging all of my attacks but I was able to hit them just fine before; suddenly he ducked and punched me in the stomach making me tumble backwards, "I get all their abilities since the last time we met." So I'm going up against a jack of all trades…

"I have a question." I said standing up.

"Really? Do we have to do the whole backstory cliché? Let's just get to the fighting already." They even have his opinions…good copy.

"How about you two explain why you're so obsessed with us?" He raised his eyebrow, "I'm guessing the others are currently blocked by your comrades, which means you're all here to stop US. So why?"

"You really think I'm going to give you that answer?"

"It'd give you a chance to not be a jackass." He laughed at this.

"Well sorry to say that this is going to be a bit of a blank spot for a while."

"Well then, that's fine for now. I have more important things to do anyway." Hearing a growl I saw grim had surrounded us, "And it seems so do you." Taking a leap I rolled out of the circle of grim and dashed after Pyrrha and Jaune; hopefully they enjoy the grim.

Gareth

As I swung with all my speed and strength Damien dodged and weaved no longer trying to morph around, with my speed though I doubt he had the chance to even try; the few hits I did get in sent him flying but he always came back up.

"Alright I'm getting bored again." Damien said yawning, "I thought you were stronger?" Suddenly he rushed forward and began striking at me; I managed to block some of the hits and take the other hits…maybe it's time to introduce him to my new skill. He continued his assault and I watched waiting for his big hit; suddenly he struck my axe down with both blades and thrust forward at my chest, feeling the energy well up I swung back at him knocking him against the wall and indenting him into it; I'd say that's double the power, "Now we're talking."

"Man, you're obsessed." I said giving him a grin.

"I just want to fight strong people. There's no use in fighting weaklings. Luckily you and your friends have managed to keep my interest."

"What's the use in getting stronger if you don't have a reason to?"

"Believe me, I have my reasons…just like you have yours." He began to laugh; what was so funny, "And I can't help but notice that you left your reason to chase me." What…Lily!

"What did you do to my friend!?"

"It's not what I did…it's what you did." Suddenly I heard the sound of glass breaking and looked in surprise as Lily came flying through the window towards us, "Or…what I'm about to do." He jumped up and swung his blade sending her crashing into the ground a few yards away from me; NO, "Seems leaving her alone wasn't the smartest idea huh?" Damn it! I rushed forward and swung at Damien sending him flying into the wall. I picked up Lily and she groaned slightly; good, she wasn't hurt too bad.

"Gareth?" She said looking at me.

"You okay Lily?" I asked and she giggled.

"Guess I just lost my focus for a moment." I chuckled at her attempt to make light of the situation; that was my job, "There's a grim dragon circling the school." A grim dragon…

"Then I think it's time for us to go help the others." Helping her back on her feet I heard a dark chuckle and looked over to see Damien walking towards us.

"That's the rage I was expecting…now let's do this!"…

"Come on Lily." I motioned and she nodded as we ran towards the outer courtyard.

"What…DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!" I pushed his voice out of my head and rushed outside; as much as I HATED HIM…I had to help my friends; I don't know what it is but a grim dragon doesn't sound very good right now. Stepping outside I looked up to see droplets falling of the dragon and landing around us; grim rose out of the puddles that dropped and eyed us as we moved back to back.

"Ready Lily?" I looked to her and she gave me a nod; with her confidence behind me I rushed at the grim with my Earth Breaker ready and my shotgun loaded; I will protect my friends.

Lily

We both took a breather finally clearing away the grim that had surrounded us; as we stood there I could hear weapons fire and blades clashing not far away from where we were, that must be the others.

"Gareth, this way." I beckoned and we ran towards the noise. We came to the front of the school and I noticed our friends fighting off Atlas military mechs; looks like Alice was right, those things aren't our allies anymore.

"Come on!" Gareth said loading his shotgun and rushing forward. I pulled out my rife and took shots at the mech as it turned its attention to me; pulling out my scythe I dashed forward and hooked around the joint and spun on top of it pulling up and taking it off. Jumping off as it crashed I looked behind me to see everyone looking exhausted and out of breath; this was no time to pull any punches. I raised my scythe into the air and concentrated.

"Rejuvinate!" I cried and everyone was bathed in a green light; they all looked surprised as they stood up looking refreshed, "This is your second wind everyone!" They all nodded and rushed forward ready to take the mechs on again, "No time to slack off." Dashing forward I zigzagged as the mech shot rounds at me; moving close enough I jumped and struck embedding my blade into its center, pulling up I carved a path along the top of it and pulled out, "Gareth!" He nodded and jumped forward swinging down; as he slowly struck directly into my blade path the creature was cleaved in half.

"Let's see it move now!" Gareth said laughing and I looked to see two more approaching us.

"Looks like he has some friends." Coco replied and she turned back to Velvet, "Velvet, you're up."

"Really?" She asked sounding delighted.

"Just make 'em count." Velvet stepped forward and approached the mech. As I moved up Coco put her arm out stopping me, "Don't worry, she's got this." I watched Velvet and was surprised as the box on the back of her waist let out a light that followed up to hand; it began to move quickly sketching into…Ruby's scythe!? I watched in amazement as she expertly used the weapon and switched between so many weapons; every weapon she pulled was one we knew of suck as Weiss's rapier, Yang's gauntlets, Blake's katana, Sun's nunchakus- the list goes on. When she was suddenly stopped by a mech bearing down on her Weiss dashed forward and as she ran a glyph appeared behind her in the air, when she blocked a massive arm holding an even bigger blade blocked the mech and sliced it apart.

"Amazing." I said honestly surprised and enamored with the technology Velvet just used. I turned to Gareth and we both nodded knowing what to do next; we had to regroup with Alice and Soren.

"Lily!" That's Penny's voice! I turned around to see Penny standing next to…Gareth!? I looked to my left still seeing Gareth there…then that must be-, "Gareth and I are here to help you and…Gareth?"

"Penny get away from him!" Gareth yelled with a worried and scared look in his eye. As we moved to get Penny Damien pulled out his short sword and thrust directly into Pyrrha's center; we stopped as Penny suddenly went wide eyed and Damien swung cleaving her in half.

"No…" I fell to my knees in shock; not again, "Penny."

"You seem to misunderstand which friend I was talking about…didn't you?" Damien said as he stood next to Penny's body as it sparked.

"You…YOU BASTARD!" Gareth yelled.

"What do you have to gain from killing her!?" I yelled feeling my eyes well up.

"Do you know how dangerous this girl is? Even with only one arm that still left too much to chance with the weaponized robot girl. Cinder wouldn't like that so…consider it tying up loose ends."

"Tying up loose ends?" I said feeling my arm shake and my fist clench, "Tying up loose ends!? She had friends! She had dreams!...she had a life."

"She was a robot…and even if that were true, it doesn't matter in the end." He turned around and chuckled at Sukia landed on the ground and picked him up, "See you again real soon." With those words they took off into the sky.

"Get back here!" Gareth yelled shooting into the sky at them. I moved towards Penny and looked into her eyes to see them unmoving and hollow…we should have protected her…we were SUPPOSED to protect her…no.

"I…I'm so sorry Penny." I said feeling the tears stream down my face. Suddenly I felt a cold hand on my cheek and looked down to see Penny reaching out to me, "Penny! You're okay!"

"N-No…I…I'm afraid that this is it." No…please.

"I…I don't want to lose another friend…if I had been there…then I could have-"

"Li-Lily…I'm sorry…I lied to you." What?

"W-What do you mean?" Gareth asked crouching down.

"I…I didn't have the power to fight…I barely had the energy to keep moving. E-Eventually…I would have shut down anyway."…So…we had failed all along!?

"…I should have been quicker." Gareth said as he slammed his fist into the ground, "If I had been faster then maybe I could have stopped the fight in time! Damnit! I thought I could do it…but I couldn't…again!"

"Gareth." I put my hand on his shoulder as he started to shake.

"Please…do not worry for me…you did your best…I am glad…to have met all of you. Please…tell Ruby that we will meet again…I know we will." With those final words her eyes expanded until it was nothing but pure black.

"…Why…why does this keep happening…I wanted to protect those I care about…but I couldn't even protect them when they need me…no."

"Why am I so weak…" Gareth began, "I just wanted to get stronger…to protect others…but I can't even gather the power to do that!" We sat there in grieving and self-pain as the realization of our weakness washed over us…and it wouldn't go away.

Soren

Moving around the cafeteria I watched the confrontation between this masked man and Blake lay out; I had to wait for my opening, this guy doesn't look like an amature. As I watched them fight it seemed less like an actual fight and more like a blocking and retaliating dance; Blake's strikes were weak and slow while her shots seemed off point and shaky, this guy was dangerous to her mind and if I didn't act then this would go badly for all involved. Gripping Twin Soul I took a deep breath; (Speed) I dashed forward and swung at his back but was stopped as he turned and blocked; how did he see that!? Backing up I switched to dual blade and swung at him as he calmly dodged and blocked; he never broke stance or even looked distressed as he blocked. I swung both blades up in an attempt to knock his guard off only to knock him back slightly.

"Soren?" I heard Blake say and the man turned to him.

"So you know this boy?" He said confusing me.

"No…Adam don't…Soren run!"

"Not happening." I replied brandishing my blades, "I'm not abandoning my friend."

"Please…just run." She pleaded; she was afraid of this guy…but I'm not backing down! I rushed and swung at him again, this time trying to build up momentum and increase the speed of my swings. I watched as he began to struggle blocking and watching his halfhearted quick dodge I swung my right blade up knocking his blade out of the way and thrust making him fall backwards.

"Got him!" Running over to Blake I noticed her breathing was slightly ragged and uneven; either she had just gone through a long fight, or she was scared out of her mind, "Come on, let's get you-" Suddenly I felt and absence and my entire thought process was absorbed by the intense pain I felt, "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I collapsed to the ground and looked to see Adam had completely severed my left leg from my body.

"SOREN!" As I lied there I looked up at Blake to see her starting to cry.

"Do you see what you've done!" Adam screamed at Blake.

"I…I never wanted this…I wanted equality." I felt her tears hit my face, "Not this…"

"What you want is impossible!"

"N…No." I said feeling my consciousness start to fade; I looked up at Adam giving him the most confident gaze I could muster in that moment, "It's not…you're just blinded by what you regret, you can't even see a bright future!" He sneered at me and I felt his blade puncture my chest, "AAHH!"

"Stop it!" Blake yelled as my vision cut in and out.

"All I wanted…is you Blake…and now, as I work to deliver the justice mankind greatly deserves, I'm going to make sure to destroy everything you love." He replied twisting his blade.

"Aaaah!"

"Starting with him," Suddenly I heard a cry and looked to see Yang near the cafeteria calling for Blake, "and her." Pulling out his blade he stuck it into Blake who gave a cry. I looked over to see Yang looking at us in horror;…no…don't Yang. She rushed in ready to strike…but in that moment Adam swung and the last thing I could see before passing out was Yang falling to the ground…and her hand flying into the fire.

Alice

"Ah!" I cried as I felt my head throb for a moment; what was that…it felt like something terrible just happened.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asked and I nodded. We stood in the elevator with Ozpin and Pyrrha as it descended below floor level into the basements of the building; it felt colder as we got lower…and I'm positive it wasn't just temperature related. When the doors opened we all rushed out and I looked around; it was one long empty hallway and at the end of it was some sort of pod system with empty pods…no, one of them wasn't empty.

"What is this place?" Jaune asked.

"It's…a type of vault." Pyrrha replied.

"You've been here?" Ozpin began typing away at his keyboard as I looked in the pod at the girl; she looked peaceful…but her face was a different story, it looked almost shattered and cracked from where the skin rapidly changed tone…almost like she had the life sucked out of her.

"Pyrrha, get to the pod." Ozpin commanded and I watched as she climbed into it, "Jaune, Alice, stand guard here." I nodded and pulled out my Enchanter as Jaune stood ready with his sword and shield. As we stood there I began to wonder about this place; whatever was happening right now felt…wrong; it felt like something that could lead to worse things than just an army of grim. I listened to the machine power up and out of nowhere Pyrrha began to scream in pain.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled turning around. Seeing a twinkle in the distance I rolled and swung at the arrow that was fired at the other pod; as my blade struck the arrow it broke apart and passed on both sides of me; turning around I watched as the arrow reformed and struck the pod.

"No!" I cried as the girl in side went limp; we…couldn't stop it. An orange aura flew off the body and passed by me moving to a woman standing away from us; Cinder…, she rose into the air and an overwhelming amount of power shot off her body almost sending me to my knees, "You…you…!" I rushed at her and jumped up taking a swing; she held out her hand stopping the blade before it hit her and pushed sending me flying into the wall. I collapsed to the ground and stood up as Jaune was blasted back by her power; damn it she's too powerful! PYrrha burst out of her pod and Ozpin stopped her from rushing at Cinder.

"All of you; get out of here. Find Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow, bring them here. We cannot lose the tower!"

"But…we have to stop her." I said and he gave me a sad look.

"You'll only get in the way." !...Pyrrha grabbed Jaune and we rushed past Cinder heading for the elevator; I raised Jaune's shield as a blast came at us and felt my legs buckle slightly at the force. FInnaly making it to the elevator I hit for ground floor and we stood there silently as it slowly raised…the only sound was the rapidly decreasing volume of the fight between Cinder and Ozpin…because we failed…and from this feeling in my heart I'm guessing we weren't the only ones to fail.


	24. Chapter 24 (It's not over yet.)

"So…you still think they can win?"

"…"

"No answer?"

"It's not necessary, because you know the truth even better than I do."

"!...Shut it!"

"See…no matter how much you deny it…you know the outcome in a fight."

"That's why I won't fight…but I'll win!"

"Is this really what you want? Is this what she would want?"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HER LIKE YOU KNOW HER!...You did nothing for her."

"…I was never supposed to."

"Then I shall do what you never did."

Lily

We walked to the docks at the school with the others in silence; none of us wanted to say anything after what just happened to Penny…we tried so hard to save her but…we let Alice's warning go in vain…damn it.

"Everyone on board!" Port yelled, "This is a mandatory evacuation!"

"Children," Oobleck said approaching us, "please board the ship." I looked around for Soren and Alice only to find them absent from any of the groups.

"We can't leave yet. Soren and Alice are still somewhere in the school." I retorted.

"I'm sorry Miss Tesit but I cannot allow anyone to go back into the school."

"But Pyrrha and Jaune are still in there too." Nora said in a worried tone as she helped Ren walk.

"I understand that both of you have friends out there but my main priority is to get you kids out of here." Oobleck explained.

"Well I'm not leaving until I find those two." Gareth proclaimed and I nodded in agreement.

"Oh my god." I turned my head hearing Weiss's voice and looked to see- oh my god!

"Soren!" Gareth exclaimed as we rushed over to him; Blake had collapsed on the ground and had both Soren and Yang in her arms…but Yang was missing her arm…and Soren was missing his leg.

"I'm…I'm so sorry." Blake chocked out tearing up.

"Oh…oh my god." I said not even thinking about it. He was still breathing but it was ragged and unbalanced; I fell to my knees and immediately started checking his temperature and tending to his…well…missing leg.

"Lily can you do anything!?" Gareth asked in a panicked voice. It was amazing that he wasn't loosing blood out of the wound…it looked like something was keeping the blood inside him…his aura! I pulled out my scroll and looked at Soren's aura; it was depleting slowly which meant he it was being used to do something…most likely keep the blood in.

"If I had the leg then I might be able to reattach it with my magic…it would take every piece of it though…and I still need the leg."

"…What's that in his hands?" I looked down at his arms to see he was gripping something tightly; Gareth pried his hands open and out rolled the leg we were looking for, "Perfect." I put my hands on the leg and was shocked to feel Soren's aura still surrounding it; he still had a connection to his leg even after it was separated from his body…incredible…although if I'm not quick there won't be a leg to reattach.

"Gareth, I need you to hold the leg perfectly against the hole. If it isn't positioned then it won't reattach." Gareth took a deep breath and picked up the leg putting it back on Soren's hole, "Okay…keep it there." Putting my weapon down I placed my hands on Soren's severed leg and his ankle; deep breath…in…out…(Curaza!) I kept my focus as the bright green light spun and swung around Soren's leg. Just…a little…more…come…on! I saw the leg twitch and nodded to Gareth who let go, when he did the leg stayed attached; good.

"Nice job Lily."

"Thanks…Gareth." I began to cough feeling my body start to give; I looked at my hand to see I had coughed up a little blood.

"Lily!"

"I'm okay Gareth…it just took a bit more magic then I could take at once."

"You should rest, I'll protect you." Gareth…I think I'll do just that.

"Thanks…goodnight." I closed my eyes feeling exhaustion overtake my body.

Soren

Hgn!...ow…my body aches…and I feel like I was hit with a ton of brick. Sitting up I grabbed my head; it felt like I had a splitting headache…again…! I whipped my head around looking for Blake and Yang frantically; feeling an arm brush mine I looked down to see Blake and Yang lying next to me, gripping her hand she gave me a smile before her eyes welled with tears and she looked over at Yang. That's right…Yang lost her arm…to Adam- that's right…my leg! I hastily looked down at my leg to see it still there to my relief…but I definitely remember it was cut off though…so how is it back on. The only way it could come back on is…Lily! I looked over to see Gareth holding Lily in his arms as she slept.

"Gareth." He looked at me and gave a big grin.

"Soren! You're awake." Standing up I felt my leg slightly give, "You might want to lay off on the leg for a minute." I nodded sitting back down.

"So I'm guessing Lily was the one who healed my leg?" He nodded and I looked down at Lily who was sleeping peacefully, "Remind me to thank her when she wakes up."

"How did you lose the leg?"

"It was the leader of the White Fang…Adam."

"He was that powerful?"

"No, he wasn't powerful…he was precise. His strike cut right through my aura and severed my leg, through Blake's abdomen…and through Yang's arm." I looked around again seeing a distinct lack in the rest of team RWBY…and Alice, "Gareth, where's Alice?"

"The last time I saw her she went with Pyrrha and Jaune to go see Ozpin." Ozpin…wait…it's coming back to me…I…remember this part…no…why am I remembering this just now!?

"Gareth, where are Ruby and Weiss?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Something is very bad, where are they?"

"They went to go get Pyrrha, Jaune and Alice."

"We have to catch up with them…now." As I stood up I felt my leg try to give out again; no…stay up!

"Easy man. You just got that leg back." I took a deep breath and stood up straight feeling my left leg struggle to stay up.

"We can't wait…the longer we wait the less time we have to act." I looked over to see Twin Soul on the ground and picked it up securing it on the back of my waist, "We have to catch up with Ruby and Weiss…no, we have to pass them."

"I don't know how fast I'll be able to move with Lily." Gareth pointed out hoisting her on his back; he had a point…

"Put your energy into strength to hold her and speed to move." He nodded taking a deep breath and then grinned at me, "Alright, let's go."

"Mister Thain." I turned to see Oobleck and Port standing over me, "I cannot allow you or Gareth to go back into the school."

"But Alice and the others are still in there!" I yelled back.

"I'm sorry but, as a huntsman, I cannot allow you to go back into the school with the grim dragon flying around." Port and Oobleck pulled out their respective weapons.

"We will stop you if we have to." Taking a step back I gripped my blade.

"Sorry doctor…professor…I'm not leaving her in there!" (Speed!) With one swift slice I struck both Oobleck and Port and sheathed Twin Soul as the fell to the ground slightly twitching, "That paralysis should only last a few minutes. I'm sorry but I'm not leaving her in there…I've seen what happens…and I know what she's going to do…I'm not letting her die!"

"Soren." I looked over at Gareth; right…we should go.

"Alright…let's get moving."

Alice

When the elevator opened we all rushed out as Jaune opened up his scroll to call the other teachers.

"I'll call Glynda…where did I save her number?" I should check on the others…they need to know about what's happening; I pulled out my scroll and dialed up Soren- gah! Suddenly the ground shook and we all looked at the tower.

"What was that?" I listened closely as the rumbling sound turned into an almost engine like blast…it was Cinder…she…she beat Ozpin?

"No…Ozpin…" She's going to destroy the tower.

"There's no time." Pyrrha said, "Both of you go. Get to Vale and call for help."

"What are you going to do?" Jaune asked; I already knew the answer though, "…No…Pyrrha you can't, you saw how powerful she is…Pyrrha I won't let you-"

"!" I was shocked to watch as Pyrrha leaned in and kissed Jaune on the lips completely taking him off guard, a braver woman then me, "…although from what that kiss means I don't think I'd want to be that brave." When they separated she pushed him into the nearby locker.

"Alice, stop her! Please!" I stood by as she punched in the code and sent Jaune flying out of the area.

"…You didn't stop me?" Pyrrha asked.

"I know what you're planning… I've seen the same thing pulled by a certain idiot of mine, honestly I'd do the same…I'm not letting you go in there alone. Either I'm stopping you here…or I'm coming with you." She smiled before heading into the tower as I followed behind her; I can never stop those I care about from doing something crazy…but I'm not letting them do it alone. We approached the elevator on the first floor and opened it to see a hole was blasted through the floor and the roof; I guess Cinder went through this already. I stood next to Pyrrha as she focused her semblance and raised the elevator to the top floor, where Cinder was headed.

Soren

As we turned a corner I could see Ruby and Weiss in the distance fighting grim and dashed towards them wiping out the grim that were after them.

"Soren." Weiss said surprised.

"We have to head to the headmaster's building." I explained.

"Why?" Ruby asked. Before I could answer Weiss's scroll suddenly started ringing.

"It's Jaune."

"Weiss you have to stop her!" Jaune's voiced sounded panicked and worried…oh no, we're already at that point!?

"What?"

"Pyrrha! She's going after that woman and you have to stop her!" I quickly grabbed Weiss's scroll.

"Jaune is Alice with you?!"

"No, she's with Pyrrha, please stop them!"

"Jaune where are you?" Weiss asked.

"Never mind about me! You have to stop them! Please…stop them."

"We will. Now where are you?" Suddenly there was a cracking sound and the connection cut out; Alice is with Pyrrha…that means they can hold out against Cinder for a little longer…but I'm still worried, now Alice is in danger.

"Come on." I said stepping forward.

"What about Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"Jaune can take care of himself." Gareth said, "He's not totally incompetent."

"Come on, let's hurry. I don't think I want to know what happens the longer we wait." As I began to walk the ground shook again and we looked up to see the Grim dragon latched on to the side of the tower, "We don't have time for this!"

"Don't worry, I have a plan." Ruby said pulling out her scythe.

"You always do." Weiss replied pulling out her rapier. I readied my blades and looked back at Gareth who looked at Lily and then shrugged at me; he couldn't put Lily down here.

"Stay in the back Gareth, we'll handle this." He nodded and I quickly swung at the Ursa lunging at him. Looking back towards Ruby and Weiss I looked to see grim beginning to swarm them; crap…Alice, just hold out for a little longer…please.

Alice

I could hear a low growl as we began to reach the top; it sounded like a large creature…the grim dragon, I could feel the tension begin to pound me down as the growl became louder.

"…You go low, I'll go high." I said drawing Enchantress and she nodded as the elevator stopped; we made it to the top. I took a deep breath and Pyrrha threw her shield as the door opened and I saw as it flew towards Cinder; as she batted it away I dashed in moving around the perimeter as Pyrrha went straight for her immediately moving to strike her, I pulled up behind and swung at Cinder's back but before I could hit she blasted an aura of energy knocking me against the glass wall. When I touched the ground I rolled to the right as Cinder sent a blast at me; I dashed to the left and right dodging her blast as she tried to pin me down and pulled out my mini-gun unloading a clip into her. She held out her hand and waved it catching most of the shots and being pelted by the ones that got through. I quickly dove behind Ozpin's desk as Pyrrha took over and began holding Cinder's attention. As she held Cinder off I reloaded and checked my dust cartridge seeing it was empty;…guess I'm going to have to use magic for this. Taking a deep breath I jumped out from behind the desk and began swinging my blade creating lines of ice that flew at Cinder; she swiftly retaliated blasting each ice line to water and using the mist created I separated into dual katana and dashed forward taking swings at her as she held her hands out to stop the blade with her energy. I looked over to see Pyrrha had lined up her shot and fired nailing Cinder in the back. Backing up I watched as Cinder curled in and shot out shattering the glass room and sending both Pyrrha and I flying backwards; she suddenly began to send wave after wave at us keeping her focus open to focus on both of us, any time one of us moved to hit her blind spot she flared up creating a line of fire that stopped us in our tracks. When she stepped down shards began to gather around her hands creating twin short blades. She charged at us splitting us keeping me on her left and Pyrrha on her right; I moved in and began attacking as she blocked both Pyrrha and my attacks almost flawlessly. When I went for a strike suddenly her blades were gone and she grabbed my blade gripping it tightly and I looked over to see she had done the same to Pyrrha as she swung her hands sending both of us flying . As I skidded against the ground I felt my body suddenly move onto air a gripped the bottom of the floor as I dangled off the tower edge; I climbed up and looked to see Pyrrha had managed to catch Cinder in her hold. I moved forward to assist but stopped in my tracks as in the distance I could see the grim dragon charging the building; as I looked back to Cinder she had broken Pyrrha's blade and sent her flying back towards me, we skidded against the pillar and I felt my arm become pinned forcing me to send it flying out of the tower and towards the ground,…no! We shakily stood up and Pyrrha grabbed her shield as I pulled out my mini-gun as my last means of self-defense. Pyrrha threw her shield and Cinder bat it away as I shot her with everything I had; she blocked my shots and when it was over she looked up in shock as Pyrrha had used her semblance to surround Cinder in gears and as she called her shield back it struck Cinder back making her slightly disoriented as Pyrrha collided ever single gear with her body trapping Cinder…or so we hoped. She burst from the pile launching the gears all over the place and sending Pyrrha flying against the wall; her aura drained from her body completely depleted as she slumped to the ground unmoving. Guess…I have to do this.

Soren

I sliced through another grim taking it out and out of the corner of my ear I could hear something flying towards us; I stepped back as it collided with the ground, it was Alice's Enchanter. I looked up to see the top half of the tower was completely gone and the grim dragon was up there.

"We've got to hurry!" Ruby said as I grabbed Alice's weapon, Weiss held her hand out creating a line of glyphs that traveled up the building towards the top.

"You guys go!" Weiss yelled stabbing into another grim, "I'll hold here." We both nodded to her and Ruby grabbed me, using her semblance we collided with the side of the building; standing up we both began to follow the glyph line up the building with everything we had; Alice…Pyrrha…please be okay.

Alice

I rushed at Cinder and began swinging my arms and legs creating lines of fire, ice, lightning, whatever would be able to combat her as she dodged and weaved around each strike and elbowed me back. I dug my heels into the ground stopping me and rushed back at Cinder as she summoned her blades and began trying to strike me; my territory now. I weaved around her strikes and retaliated as she did the same locking us in a heated dance where even one mistake could cost one of us the fight. Ducking under her horizontal slice I connected my hands with the ground and swung my right foot up connecting with her face and causing her to stagger as I swung my left foot down creating a line of ice that covered and froze her solid. I stood up taking a breath and noticed her turn orange; suddenly the ice shattered as a powerful blast sent me flying against the wall, as I slid down I felt my aura finally give out as I panted heavily…I was exhausted…I couldn't beat her…I…I wasn't able to protect Pyrrha…Soren. As I fell into unconsciousness I felt tears slide down my face against my control.

Soren

Finally reaching the top I grabbed the edge and jumped into the room; Ruby followed behind and I saw Cinder standing tall while Alice and Pyrrha were unable to move. As I tried to move I felt my feet stick to the ground; I reached to move them but my whole body seemed frozen in this position; was I afraid again…no…I was being held back!

"You can't do anything." That was Owen's voice! I gave it my all to try to move but could only watch as Cinder walked towards Pyrrha and held out her hands as a bow and arrow materialized in her hand…aimed at Pyrrha's heart. I watched in horror as the arrow was loosed form its string and pierced Pyrrha's flesh…no…not again…NOOOO-

"PYRRHA!" Ruby's voiced rang through the air as a blinding white light filled the area and a powerful force pounded against me…it feels…intense…gah!

…Ngh…owww…everything feels stiff…and my ears have this weird ringing in them. Standing up I looked around, I was still on the roof but…something definitely wasn't right; Ruby and Cinder were still here but they were stuck. Ruby was screaming to the heavens while Cinder had a shocked look on her face. I looked to the side to see Alice still there; I rushed over and checked her pulse still feeling her heart beat and gave a sigh of relief. Checking Cinder and Ruby I was shocked to find their hearts had completely stopped…but they still looked alive…and still gave off body heat…Cinder considerably. I looked down at Pyrrha's head band and felt a rush of emotions consume my heart as my tears poured from my eyes against my attempts to hold it back…I don't know why I was trying.

"So close." I quickly turned around to see Owen standing at the edge of the building, "A little more and you would have exploded with power."

"What are you talking about?" I asked hearing my voice crack and waver against my control.

"Power Soren. Every power ever is dictated by a person's ability to amplify and control it. Do you know what amplifies a person's ability?"

"…?"

"Emotion more than anything. Fear, sadness, determination, hope…fear…and anger."

"!" So…, "So it's like when you destroyed a world when Nina was killed!"

"That's right. All the anger I felt in that moment…it sent my power into an atomic bomb…wiping out almost everything."

"Is that what you wanted me to do!?" What's wrong with him!?

"I thought it might work on Gareth and Lily but it seems like that was a dud." …Penny?

"What…" I felt my hands clench my blades tightly, "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO DO THIS!?" I shouted at him.

"Because you have no idea what it's like." He pulled back his cloak to reveal singed blonde hair that stuck straight up while the ends near his ears was pitch black…his face was tough and rugged but his eyes were his most noticeable feature; they were normal hazelnut eyes but the intensity behind them was something I had never seen before…and I doubted I would ever see eyes that intense ever again. His body was a tapestry of pain from the burn marks that covered his right arm to the scars that were along his left leg…it made me cringe to look at his wounds and injuries that were plastered across the open parts of his body, "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE SOMEONE YOU LOVE!" He put his cloak back on and it was only after that I felt my jaw was hanging open in surprise, "To have someone you care about ripped away without being able to do anything…and knowing that they died for no reason…their deaths were in vain…and it was your fault." …He was right…I had only come to terms with Kent, Hana, Pent and Sena's deaths because they were able to light the crystal and help us take out Garland but…Pyrrha…she died for nothing…and I wasn't able to save her, "But because of your friend's outburst of power you were held back from completely eradicating this world." I…I had that power?!

"I…I would never-"

"You would have." !, "Whether or not you WANTED to you WOULD have." …No…I-I-I would have…I would have destroyed everything…

"That still doesn't give you the right." I said looking him the eye, "YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TREAT LIVES LIKE NECESSARY SACRIFICES!"

"Whether I wanted to or not I must…and to do that I must deal with you. You continue to stand in my way and I tire of it and now that you can open the tears I have to deal with you in whatever way I must."

"SO YOU TRY TO KILL MY FRIENDS!? YOU THINK THAT WOULD STOP ME!?"

"No…but it would destroy everything around you…it would turn all the power you've gathered into an explosive force capable of destroying worlds and no matter who you are or how powerful you have become you would have been consumed by it. It would have completely drained you…and then I would have taken you out. NO ONE, can hold back that power once it is released…and once someone is pushed far enough they are unable to stop themselves from doing it."…"But it looks like I'm going to have to go deeper now." He swung his arm and I felt a force send me flying away from Alice. When I stood back up I was shocked to see Owen holding Alice by her shirt and holding a sword in his other hand…no.

"Don't…DON'T YOU DARE!" I screamed as I tried to lung forward, my feet were glued to the ground again…no...NO!

"You won't be moving from that spot. You don't have the strength or power to break from that magic floor trap I set and with Jarek no longer in you I have no reason to think you can berserk your way out of it." He raised his blade, "You are going to watch as what you care about most is taken from you before your eyes!" No…no…no…nononononononononononononononNO!

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" I grabbed Twin Soul and swung with everything I had opening a tear and with all my strength I leapt into it finding myself in a strange red realm…no time! I swung again opening another tear and jumped out finding myself behind Owen and swung at his back making a long cut along his spine. As he screamed in pain he dropped Alice and I swept in grabbing her and opened another tear jumping in and appearing next to Gareth who looked in shock at me. Setting Alice down I jumped back into the tear and looked to see Owen bearing down on me…but I wasn't afraid; he swung as I quickly blocked and pushed his blow out of the way and struck at his chest stabbing through. As he stuck his hand out I saw an orange flame gather around it and opened a tear jumping through and ending up behind him as he shot the blast. Kicking him he fell into the fire and screamed before jumping out and looking at me in a much more enraged way.

"You…you think you're so tough!?"

"…No…I'm just not letting you hurt Alice!" (Speed x2) In the blink of an eye I was in front of Owen and separated into dual blade mode slicing across every part of him as he backed up and tried to block only to be met by my blade running through his skin. When I stopped I backed up feeling my breath grow heavy. I looked at him in shock as he limped and panted holding the wounds that bled and oozed; I actually did that…that was done by me?

"How…how do you have that much power?" He said coughing up blood, "…oh I see." He began to chuckle before raising his hand, "Curaza." A light surrounded him and I watched as his wounds closed and his blood splotches disappeared, "So we've reached that point have we?"

"What point? What are you talking about!?"

"Think of it like a time limit. I knew this would happen one day. If not you then someone just like you would have shown up…and challenged me. I had my doubts when I first met you but it seems it's true…you are proof that it's time for me to finish up my project." !

"Not if I can help it!" I dashed forward but he suddenly disappeared and I felt something collide with my side; I looked over to see Damien had kicked me and as I skid into the ground to regain my footing I felt something slip under my feet. I looked over again to see Sukia behind me and she sung her scythe sending me flying into the air and out of the tower; I swung my blade to open a tear back to the tower but was surprised as Penny and Denys rocketed down and hit me sending me crashing into the ground at the base level of the tower.

"Soren!" I stood up shakily as Gareth came over to help, "Man there isn't a scratch on you!"

"Thank my aura." I replied as he helped me get up, "Still hurt like hell though."

"Then maybe you should give up." I looked over to see Jarek approaching us as the others fell in line behind him, "It's not going to be long before you aren't around anymore anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Gareth asked as I pulled out my sword.

"He's talking about the end of reality." I answered.

"He's going through with it now!?"…That's actually a good point.

"Why the hell is he just doing this now? If he had enough travelers to- wait…he still doesn't!" Jarek gave a scowl; thanks for giving it away.

"Doesn't matter anyway." Penny said.

"It's not too hard to gather travelers." Denys finished, "…And then we'll get our second chance."

"But it's not a second chance!" I yelled, "You're going to make everything disappear to make another big bang…but that's not a second chance…that's giving up!"

"What do you know?!" The twins yelled at me in unison, "You still have all your friends! What have you lost!?"

"…Is that a joke? Are you kidding me!? You all just made sure that we lost Pyrrha and Penny! We lost Kent and the warriors of light because you guys had to interfere! Don't tell me I haven't lost anything!" I felt Gareth's arm on my shoulder and took a deep breath. When I opened my eyes Jarek was pointing his great sword at us.

"Well you're about to lose your lives now." (Speed x2) I kicked up making his blade go flying and slashed open a tear into Vale.

"Gareth, come on!" Grabbing Alice we leapt through the portal.

"Gah!" I turned around hearing Gareth's yell and looked to see Damien had thrown a blade into his back and it was sticking out as we tumbled into the city streets.

"Gareth!" I picked him up and pulled out the knife as he gave a groan of pain; quickly shuffling through Lily's bag I grabbed the medical kit and began putting gauze and medical tape over his back wound…crap it was in there…at this point it'll leave a scar, "Are you okay buddy?"

"Yeah…I'll be fine…it's just a flesh wound." He replied acting strong.

"Actually it'll leave a scar…why didn't your aura activate?"

"While you were up in the tower…a few grim decided to pick a fight and I guess they did a bit more damage than I thought…damn." He was panting…it's been a long day…he's probably taken on more than any of us with the atlas drones, knights and grim all against us.

"Take a break buddy…I'll keep an eye on the others until they wake up."

"No…I'll be fine…just give me a minute." …

"Alright…hey did you know if your hand is bigger than your face you're an idiot?"

"Really?" (Sleep!)

'Smack!' That should keep him down for at least a little bit. Once his wound had stopped bleeding I sat back against a nearby building and took a deep breath; we've been here for a year and I thought we were running out of time…but now I know we're running out of time. Suddenly I heard something skid across the pavement and turned to see Blake dashing towards us…no, past us? Jumping forward as she passed we tumbled to the ground.

"Ow…Soren?" Blake said surprised.

"Blake…what are you doing?" She looked away painfully and tried to dash off before I grabbed her arm, "Blake, what's going on?" I said in a more serious tone.

"…The ship made it back to Vale."

"Well you're here so…yeah."

"And…I ran."

"What!? Why would you-"

"Because it's my fault…Adam is going to hurt those I love…and I can't do anything to stop him…so I ran."

"Blake…"

"And I'm going to keep running…so he can never get close to those I love."

"Blake that's crazy."

"Why? All I've done is make things worse for everyone…Yang…Pyrrha…Penny…you." She began to cry as she spoke…and I felt my eyes water…I knew how she felt…to do everything and not be able to do anything.

"You didn't have anything to do with Pyrrha or Penny's deaths…that was our fault…we couldn't save them…and as for what happened to Yang and I, I blame Adam more then I will ever blame you Blake."

"But…I…I-"

"You're a friend Blake…that means Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren…us…we're going to stand by you." Wiping a tear away I embraced her in a hug, "…I understand you have to go…but make sure to come back…okay?" She nodded before we stood up and she began to walk away.

"Soren."

"Hm?"

"…It's not your fault…whoever attacked us…they caused all this."

"But...we- no…I couldn't stop it."

"You never stopped trying though." What, "You always kept fighting…you…you wanted to protect them with everything you had…maybe you couldn't make it in time but…you didn't deal the final blow. So please…don't blame yourself…just make sure that those who did that can never do it again." …We WILL stop them…I will NEVER let them do this again.

"I will."

"Good. Thank you…for being the hand to bring me back up."

"That's what I'll always be…I promise." She chuckled.

"Good…make sure to say goodbye properly okay?" She then dashed off leaving me confused…I think I know what she means though.

"…Are you okay?" Mary asked as I stepped into the white void space.

"I'm fine…a little bruised up and beaten but I'll be okay." I replied.

"That's good…I was worried."

"…Mary I want the truth."

"W-What do you mean?"

"My memory seemed very selective to when it wanted to return. Specifically after everything was already done."

"…"

"I'm not an idiot Mary. I've seen the world of Remnant before, I've watched things play out up to this point…without us. So why did you limit my memories?"

"…Travelers aren't supposed to be better than others. They're supposed to help and learn from the experience. Think about it, with worlds like Hyrule, the Mushroom Kingdom and the world of Final Fantasy there was no deep structure when you played them. But Remnant is a different story…in the fact that it is a story." So…I was held back to learn?

"Why? Wouldn't our knowledge make us better at helping others?"

"Maybe…but then what would you gain?" What, "Travelers are not gods…they're human like anyone else, when you step into a world you know, you give up any knowledge of future events. Only what you do in the present matters…and knowledge of the future clouds your decision."

"…But I could have saved Pyrrha…I could have saved Penny…I could have stopped the fall of Beacon." The knowledge I had could have stopped all of this.

"…No, you couldn't."

"What? Yes I cou-"

"NO…you couldn't."…, "This was a plan orchestrated with you and the others in mind…because of Owen…you couldn't do anything."…again…he keeps doing this to me again and again and again!

"Then why? Why did I do nothing?"

"Huh?"

"I followed the tune of the story down to the ending...I always thought following my instinct would lead me down the right path…but I've lost so much because of it…I wasn't able to change a thing!"

"…I wouldn't say that." Huh?

"But…what did I do then?"

"…You made connections."

"Connections?"

"All the friends you made while here. You made connections with those you spent your time with. Maybe you weren't able to change the events that transpired but you've made those you've touched stronger."

"How did I make them stronger?"

"You strengthened their resolve and given them more of a reason to fight. You wanted to protect people's purposes, and by touching their souls you have become a reason for them to fight even harder."…touching peoples souls, I want to make connections so I can help others...but by becoming a part of their lives they become stronger…maybe…maybe I can do that then.

"Alright…maybe my memory will fail me at times…but I'll keep trying to help my friends."

"Good…but right now…I think we both know what comes next." She was right, the next step was clear in my mind, "But I think-" She gave me a piece of paper and a pencil, "-you should say goodbye properly."

"…Right."

Jumping through the tear I found myself back where my friends were to see them begin to wake up; they all looked around before standing up and walking over to me.

"What happened? Is Pyrrha-" I gave Alice a sad look before she looked down gripping her fist tightly, "I…I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault." I replied.

"But I could have taken Cinder out, I could have-"

"Alice, you didn't kill Pyrrha…besides…I'm sure that the one who did it will get what's coming to her." There was a small moment of silence as they all thought about what I said.

"So…what now?" Lily asked breaking the silence.

"Are we going to reconvene with Ruby and the others?" Gareth asked and I shook my head.

"We're done here for now."

"What? But the world is flipped upside down!"

"I know…and as much as it pains me…we have to leave it to Ruby and the others to take care of. They can handle it anyway…they're as tough, if not tougher, than us." They all thought for a minute before each giving a smile.

"I'm sure Ruby is already coming up with a crazy plan." Alice suggested and I chuckled; she was most likely right.

"So what about us?" Gareth asked.

"We're going after Owen."

"Really?" Lily asked surprised.

"So you figured out how to open up the tear to his world?" Alice asked.

"Not exactly." I answered opening a tear into a white space, "But we can take the space between dimensions to travel there."

"Is there even a path to take in the space between dimensions? It looks like white emptiness."

"We'll make our own path there." Stepping in I stepped onto nothing and took a few steps forward, "Besides, I'm sure it'll lead us where we need to go." They all stepped into the tear and as Lily crossed the portal closed leaving us in pure white space.

"How did you come up with this?" Lily asked.

"Well…I thought about wanting to get there…but then I realized that I don't need to open a tear to get there-"

"You need a path there." Alice finished with a look of realization and I nodded, "So we're taking a path through dimensional space to get to Owen's place instead of bypassing it which would take more energy."

"So…we're finally taking him on." Gareth said, "No more just hopping around him?"

"That's right. We're going to go and take him out…it's time for us to finish this. Are you guys ready?" I asked.

"I'm not ready to watch the world end, there are so many people out there that have their own stories to tell and I'm not going to let these guys take that story away! I've been waiting to give them everything I got! Let's go teach them a lesson on how to get their asses kicked!" Gareth said enthusiastically.

"I…I don't want to see everything destroyed. I've found something I'm willing to hang onto…and I'm not ready to see our story end here, I'm going to fight to make sure we all have a future!" Lily added confidently.

"Alice?" I looked over to her and she gave me a gentle smile.

"I said I would fight to the bitter end until I had beaten my sickness…as far as I know I still have my sickness…and I'm not ready to stop fighting. After meeting all of you I want to keep fighting so we can all beat what we face…together. So I'm going to stop the bitter end with everything I have!" She answered, "What about you Soren…are you ready?"

"…I've been full of doubts on what I want to do with my life…after I met all of you I wanted to keep you around for as long as possible. I didn't want to watch you guys fade away…and I'm not going to. I'm going to fight to keep all of you around and protect our friends…I won't let Owen take our lives to fulfill his twisted dream. Let's go make sure we can all meet again…and keep those we care about around." With a nod from all three of them I turned around and began walking into the endless white confident that we would get to Owen…and we wouldn't lose!

Third-Person View

Ruby gathered her gear and as she reached for her hood she saw an envelope flutter out of the pocket onto the floor; the only thing on the envelope was one name, Soren. Ruby hastily picked up the envelope recognizing the name and opened it up finding a letter inside.

Dear Ruby,

I'm sorry to say this over a letter but Alice, Gareth, Lily and I had to leave Remnant to take care of a few things. I'm sure you were worried about what happened to us but don't worry, we're safe. I'd like to say that we'll be back soon but…I don't think I can say that with a straight face. I can make you one promise though, we will meet again. Right now I'm sure you're heading off to go take on the world and I'd love to be on that adventure with you and the others but we have our own adventure to go on. Our own trials to overcome, our own tasks to complete and worlds to save. So before I end this letter I'll leave you with this one last piece of advice. If you're going to fight then give it your all and never let your light fade because I'm sure that you, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Cocoa, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Fox, Pyrrha, Penny and even Cardin will be able to push back the darkness. Protect Remnant for everyone you care about…and kick a little extra butt for us. Until we meet again.

Your friend

Soren Thain

As Ruby finished the letter she looked up at the sky with a confident smile and a tear in her eye; as did Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Cocoa, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Fox and Cardin with a special letter left on Pyrrha's headband and another left clutched in Penny's right hand.


	25. Extra Chapter (Chibi)

Cookie Recipe

Soren and Ruby stood in the dorm kitchen with a recipe book in Soren's hand while various baking ingredients were scattered along the counter in front of them.

Soren: Alright, first we need to crack two eggs.

Ruby smacked the egg against the bowl destroying the egg and sending bits flying all over the place.

Soren: Okay…next is flour, two cups.

Ruby tipped the bag over into the bowl but nothing came out to the confusion of the two of them; Ruby shook the bag lightly causing a sea of flour to pour out and cover both of them.

Soren: …Next is milk.

Ruby poured the milk into the bowl and both were surprised to find no issue in pouring the milk as the laws of the universe seemed to be against them on this endeavor.

Soren: Alright! Now we stir!

Ruby: Or…

Ruby reached for the bowl and took off running around the kitchen in a circle going faster and faster as her semblance kicked in. When she came to a stop she sent the bowl flying and watched as it landed on Soren's head. As Soren stood there in shock Ruby walked over and ran her finger over the dough on his face before tasting in.

Ruby: Hmm…needs more egg.

Soren: 'Sigh'

Ninja's of ooohh…

Alice: Hey Soren, can I borrow you're-

Alice came to a stop as she looked in the room of Team RWBY to see Ruby flipping through a book and scanning the pages with enthusiasm and awe.

Alice: Ruby what are you reading?

Ruby turned to Alice and showed her the cover of one of Blake's books, Ninja's of Love. As Ruby went back in to reading Alice looked over her shoulder and read alongside with her cheeks becoming increasingly redder and her eyes growing wider. Ruby flipped the book on its side pulling out a center fold making Alice turn to the red of a tomato and collapse onto the ground with a thud.

Ruby: Now that's a katana.

Alice: …It sure is…

Weapons are primed and…uh oh

Gareth and Yang stood in the courtyard facing each other with their weapons ready as the wind blew behind them. Gareth rushed forward first and took a swing as Yang back flipped and as she landed she thrust forward at Gareth as he blocked with his axe and spun knocking her fist away. Gareth cleaved at her and as he stuck into the ground he swung forward tossing dirt on Yang making her stumble onto the ground. Gareth dashed forward and pulled out his shotgun pointing it directly at Yang and with a smirk pulled the trigger.

'CLICK'

Gareth: Huh?

'CLICK, CLICK, CLICK'

As he continued to pull the trigger Yang stood up and gave a cocky smirk before cracking her knuckles making the color on Gareth's face drain as she pulled her fist back and shot forward with her gauntlet.

'CLICK'

Yang: …?

'CLICK, CLICK, CLICK'

Both looked at each other blankly before reeling their fists back and punching each other square in the jaw knocking both of them over.

FIIIILLLLTH!

Blake scrambled around her bookshelf in panic knocking almost every other book off the shelf in a blind fever as she shivered in fear.

Blake: Where is it? Where is it!?

Alice: 'Cough'

Blake looked over in shock to see Ruby and Alice both tapping their foot and giving Blake a glare as Ruby held Blake's Ninja's of Love book in her hand.

Blake: Is…Is that my book?

Alice: This is NOT a book!

Blake: Um…well-

Ruby: This is filth. FILTH!

Ruby quickly smacked Blake before they both walked away proudly.

Blake: Can I have it back please?

Ruby: Later!

Alice: I'm reading it first.

Ruby: No way! I found it!

Alice: Don't hog it! I'm older so I get to read it first!

Ruby: Not happening!

Ruby burst into rose petals and burst out the dorm room's door. At that moment Soren stood in shock before walking into the dorm.

Soren: Hey Alice, do you-

Alice: OUT OF MY WAY!

Soren was thrown against the wall as Alice burst past him and rushed down the hall as fast as she could. Soren slowly slid down the wall smacking with the ground with a thud.

Soren: Ughh…what just happened?

Blake: My booooooook…

It wasn't me…

Weiss searched through her dorm desk and gave various groans of disappointment as Lily passed by the entrance; she was currently scribbling in her journal while humming to herself before Weiss took notice.

Weiss: Hey Lily? Have you seen my pencils? I can't find them anywhere.

Lily: N-No, I've been pretty busy with all the exchange students coming in that I've been working round the clock to keep up with them. I've been going through pencils pretty quickly myself.

Weiss glared at Lily for a moment looking her up and down before staring at the pencil in her hand; it was an ice blue color with the Schnee dust company symbol on the wood.

Weiss: …Are you sure you haven't seen my penicls.

Lily: P-Pretty sure…

Weiss: …Are you positive?

Lily: Y-Y-Yes… 'whimper'.

Weiss: Then where did you get…THAT PENCIL!

Lily: Eep! Um…I-I-I-I-I-I…I GOT IT FROM BLAKE!

Weiss: I should have known! Time to go after that cat burglar! Thanks Lily.

Weiss shot out the dorm door screaming Blake's name in vengeance slowly getting farther away from Lily. Lily gave a sigh of relief before looking around carefully and reaching into Weiss's desk draw and pulling out a box of pencils before pocketing them and continuing to walk down the hall while humming to herself.

Teacher Tasks

Soren stood in front of Glynda's desk as she looked down at him with a serious expression.

Soren: What do you need today Ms. Goodwitch?

Glynda: Well today you'll be taking on a very important task. If not done properly then it could mean the death of me and the destruction of the whole school.

Soren: I will not let you down ma'am! What must I do?

Five minutes later the scene shifts to Soren giving Glynda a massage in her chair as she sat with a content smile and Soren rubbed her shoulders with a gruff look on his face.

Glynda: Ahhh…work between the shoulder blades please.

Soren: This is a blatant abuse of power.

Piñata!

Ruby swung at the piñata with the bat as Weiss pulled it out of her reach with each pull of the rope. As Ruby sulked away Nora came up and took a few swings at it but finding no luck even as she jumped and flailed wildly making the bat crack in half. Nora tossed the bat and stomped away as Gareth came up and spun the bat confidently; Gareth suddenly channeled everything into strength and speed before swinging with all his might and hitting the piñata sending it flying across the courtyard and over the cliff side as it gave a twinkle in the sky. Gareth turned back to the others and shrugged as the bat in his hand disintegrated into dust as the sound of something hitting the ground followed by growling and howling were in the air.

Teacher Task

Soren stood in front of Doctor Oobleck as the doctor took a sip from his coffee before leaning in and looking Soren in the eye.

Oobleck: Now Soren, what I'm about to ask you to do is essential to the pursuit of knowledge in this class and if not done correctly may result in catastrophe next class!

Soren: Don't worry sir! I will not let you down! I will preserve your pursuit of knowledge!

Oobleck: Very good! Now let us begin!

Soren: Right!

Five minutes pass and Soren gives a low growl as he pours the coffee beans into the filter and fills up the jug with water before placing it in the coffee maker and turning it on.

Oobleck: Make sure those beans are fresh! It would be bad to have old coffee!

Soren: Grrrrrrr…

Hide and…where are you?

Alice: Eight…nine…ten! Ready or not here I come!

Alice got off the bench and looked around before turning and looking behind the bench to see Lily sitting there and poking her.

Alice: Found you.

Lily: Aww…

Lily got up and sat down on the bench as Alice took another look around and suddenly stopped as the sound of snapping twigs filled the air and Gareth came plummeting out of a nearby tree onto the ground.

Alice: Um…found you?

Gareth: Everything hurts.

Gareth stood up and shook himself off before sitting down next to Lily. Alice stepped forward slowly and looked around each tree and over every bush before giving a huff.

Alice: Come on out Soren. You can't hide forever and you know it!

She turned around to look at Gareth and Lily who were snickering and gave them a confused look before quickly looking behind her after hearing the sound of muffled laughter behind her. As she turned Soren continued to stay at her back as she went in a full circle before Soren threw a rock. Once it hit the ground Alice did a full one-eighty clocking Soren with her head and sending him flying behind the bench Lily and Gareth were sitting on.

Alice: Found you! You can't run forever!

As she bolted after the noise Soren groggily stood up as Lily and Gareth laughed at him keeling over on the bench and rolling off it onto the floor as Soren collapsed onto his back.

Teacher Tasks

Soren stood in front of Professor Ports desk with a skeptical glare as Port looked down at him.

Port: Now Soren, I need your help in a very vital task.

Soren: …Uh-huh…

Port: Completion of this will be essential in order to keep our school in tip top shape!

Soren: …Okay…

Port: Is something wrong my young man?

Soren: …No…so what do you need? You've got my help!

Thirty minutes pass and Soren shakes angrily as he pulls a fully baked quiche out of the oven and brings it to Professor Port who sat at the table with a fork and knife while wearing a napkin. Soren set the quiche in front of him before Port stuck his fork in and took a bite out of the pastry.

Port: Hmm…not bad…but let's try again.

Soren took a deep breath before grabbing the quiche and slamming it on Port's head before stomping away.

Port: My word!

Junior Criminals

Alice and Gareth strolled down the streets of Vale enjoying the bright sunny day as Gareth enjoyed his snacks.

Alice: And so Ruby said, now that's a katana.

Gareth chuckled at her joke as he finished his bag of chips and tossed it towards the trash can; it brushed off the edge before falling slowly to the ground.

Sun: LITTERING!

Alice and Gareth shot around in surprise as Sun and Neptune stood a few feet away from them and glared intensely at both of them. As they rushed forward and dived at them Gareth pulled out his shotgun and Alice pulled out her katana as Gareth shot Sun back and Alice struck Neptune sending him face first into the pavement. They quickly got back up and glared at both of them.

Neptune: So you're resisting arrest I see!

Sun: Time to bring out the heavy artillery!

Sun pulled out a small stun gun and pulled the trigger hitting Gareth and making him spasm as the shockwaves covered his body and sending him falling to the ground.

Alice: Isn't a stun gun a little excessive!?

Lily: Stooooopppp!

Lily burst through and reached for Gareth holding him as he sat moaning on the ground.

Lily: There's no need for this much force! Can't we all just get along? If you won't listen to them then listen to an innocent person like me.

Neptune: Aren't you the culprit who's been stealing pencils all over town?

Sun: Yeah…he's right!

Lily: …CHEESE IT!

Alice, Gareth and Lily all rushed past Neptune and down the street as fast as they could as Neptune and Sun chased after them.

Teacher Task

Soren stood in front of Headmaster Ozpin and tapped his foot impatiently as Ozpin took a sip from his mug and looked down at Soren with a serious expression.

Ozpin: Soren, I have a task for you and I need you to complete this in order to avoid as much damage as possible. Live's hang in the balance.

Soren: No wait, let me guess. You need me to clean your room, or mow you lawn, or refill your impossible to determine mug of beverage choice! Well guess what!? I'm sure you can figure it out yourself! I'm going back to my dorm, thank you very much!

Soren stomped away and entered the elevator as it closed and took him down from the office. Ozpin stood there in shock before the sound of a Nevermore's cry was heard behind him and he turned to see the beast in question flying away with Jaune gripped in its talons as he cried and flailed uselessly. Ozpin gave a small sigh before taking a sip from his mug to see it was empty.

Ozpin: And I really needed more for my mug.

Fun with magnets

Lily and Pyrrha sat on Pyrrha's bed giggling and talking before Lily went into deep thought.

Lily: Hey Pyrrha, your semblance is polarity right?

Pyrrha: Yes, why?

Lily: I was just wondering if you were positive or negative.

Pyrrha: What?

Lily: Well, polarity is pretty open and you can't be both negatively and positively charged so I was wondering which polarity you had?

Pyrrha: Um…I'm not entirely sure how to answer that.

Jaune: Hey Pyrrha, look what I found outside? It's a magnet.

Pyrrha: Eep! Keep that way from me!

Pyrrha shot her hands forward sending Jaune flying backwards into their dorm wall as the magnet stayed where it is in the air. When Pyrrha stopped the magnet started to fly at Pyrrha making her jump out the window and run across the courtyard as the magnet chased after her.

Lily: Huh…I guess she's both after all.

Lily giggled to herself before jumping off Pyrrha's bed and skipping down the hallway as Jaune slumped to the ground and the sound of Pyrrha screaming could be heard in the distance.

Study Sessions

Soren walked through the courtyard looking through his notebook; he scratched his head furiously and crossed by a bench that Weiss and Alice were sitting on. As Soren grumbled they looked up at him before stepping in front of him and stopping him making him notice them.

Alice: What's wrong Soren?

Weiss: You look pensive.

Soren: Well the next big test in Peach's class and I'm trying to get a grasp on the material.

Both of the girls gave off a mental ding and their eyes widened with a smile.

Alice: Well I can help you if you'd like. Two head are better than one.

Weiss: Well I actually know what Peach went over so I could probably give you a better summary.

Alice and Weiss glared at each other for a moment as Soren looked over his notes.

Alice: Well I know how Soren thinks so I could give him a better summary.

Weiss: Really? When you yourself can't grasp the full material. While I have full understanding of what she was talking about AND got an A on the pop quiz she gave out yesterday.

Alice: Well I got a…C…but that just means I can dumb it down for him easier!

Soren: Is that an insult?

Alice: Not now Soren!

Alice turned back to Weiss and sparks began to fly between their eyes.

Weiss: Just back off Alice. It's better that way.

Alice: Sorry but that's not going happen!

Soren: Why don't we all study together?

Alice & Weiss: WHAT!?

Soren: Yeah, we can all study together as a group…let's invite the others too!

Suddenly Weiss and Alice reeled back and slapped Soren across both his cheeks sending him spiraling backwards onto the ground.

Alice & Weiss: IDIOT!

Alice and Weiss stomped away together as Soren lied on the ground in a pain and daze. Off in the corner Gareth and Yang were rolling on the floor laughing as they pointed at Soren.

Friendship Chain

Ruby and Weiss sat in the library with a book in front of their faces. As they sat there Lily crossed by them with a mountain of books in her hands; she scrambled form side to side trying to stop the stack from toppling. As she took another step she suddenly tripped over Zwei and sent the entire stack on top of Ruby and Weiss and making them drop their book.

Lily: Ow…sorry guys I-

Lily stopped her apology and looked at their wrists to see they were connected by a pair of handcuffs.

Lily: Um…why are you two-

Weiss: It's all Ruby's fault!

Ruby: Weiss didn't like my friendship bracelet.

Weiss: We're trying to remove them but we aren't having any luck.

Gareth: Well maybe you don't know enough about handcuffs.

Everyone jumped slightly as Gareth seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Ruby: Where did you come from!?

Gareth: I just walked in. Now in order to get rid of those cuffs were going to need more handcuffs!

Gareth reached into his pocket and pulled out two pairs of handcuffs and Weiss sighed.

Weiss: Where are you people getting handcuffs?

Gareth: Army surplus store. Sun introduced me to it. Alright Lily, come help me out.

Lily nodded and stepped in as Gareth started to work his magic on the handcuffs. A blur of smoke came up and once it cleared Gareth stood proudly as he was now handcuffed in a full circle with Lily, Weiss and Ruby.

Gareth: …unfortunately I don't know enough about handcuffs either.

Weiss: You made this so much worse!

Ruby: This. Is. Awesome!

Weiss: I beg to differ!

Lily: Ditto…'whimper'.

Master Chefs

Alice cleared her throat and looked out at the line of meals made by the girls in the dorm; it was Lily & Gareth, Pyrrha & Jaune, Cinder & Mercury, Blake & Sun, Nora & Ren and Ruby on the end. Alice stepped in front of Lily & Gareth and looked down at a single serving of ramen.

Alice: 'Slurp'…not bad…is this instant ramen?

Lily: N-No...yes.

Gareth shrugged and Alice moved over to Pyrrha & Jaune to see a tray of brownies and took one off before biting into it.

Alice: Hmm…not bad…I think there's a metal after taste.

Alice took another bite and suddenly stopped as she spit out a small metal ball bearing before looking at both of them in confusion.

Pyrrha: Oh…I'm sorry.

Jaune: Huh, so that's where my marbles went.

Alice stepped over and stood in front of Cinder & Merucry who had a slab of burned meat in front of her. Reluctantly Alice poked her fork into a piece and chewed it as it crunched between her teeth.

Alice: It's…a bit overcooked.

Cinder shrugged as suddenly a blast of fire came out and she hastily shoved them behind her back and Mercury laughed at Cinder making her stomp his foot making him scream. Alice moved on and stood in front of Blake & Sun who had a plate of raw fish and bananas in front of them.

Alice: Well…Blake this is a cooking contest…this food is raw.

Blake: But that's when they taste the best.

Sun: Yeah, you don't cook banana.

Alice: I…I'm sure you're right.

Alice moved on as Blake sulked into her plate. Alice stepped in front of Nora & Ren and looked down to see an empty plate with only crumbs on it.

Alice: …Where is your dish?

Nora: I don't know…'BURP!'

Ren: 'Sigh'

Alice: …Never mind, seems I got my answer.

With a sigh Alice moved onto Ruby & Soren to see a plate of cookies and gave a sigh of relief until she saw the design on the cookie, it was a dog's behind.

"Sooooo…what do you think?" Alice took a deep breath before dropping the clipboard and walking away without looking at either of them.

Ruby: Does nobody understand my vision!?

Soren reached for a cookie and took a bite.

Soren: They taste good, and the dog butt is a nice image.

Ruby: Thank you.

Soren: Anybody want a dog butt cookie?

As Soren held the plate out everyone took a step back and he gave a confused look out to all of them.

Soren: Why does nobody want a butt cookie?

As he said that Ruby snickered before falling on the floor laughing.

Soren: What? Why doesn't anyone want a butt cookie!?

Ruby: AAAAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Pancake Wars

Soren walked down the hallway proudly spinning a frying pan and holding all the ingredients for pancakes in his mixing bowl. He hummed to himself as the stepped past the threshold to the kitchen and stopped immediately once he saw Ren was preparing everything to make his own pancakes and gave a low growl before approaching him.

Soren: So…I see you're making pancakes.

Ren: Yep.

Soren: …Well maybe you didn't realize but I make the pancakes around here.

Ren: Well…everyone has their own opinions.

Once he said that he gave Soren a glare which he returned and a tumble Zwei passed through the kitchen.

Soren: …You will not defeat me!

Soren quickly started preparing his ingredients as Ren did the same.

Ren: I do not plan to lose to you or anyone!

Once both of them had their batter ready they started preparing pancakes as fast as they could. With every pancake they made they quickly flipped in behind them and started up another pancake until both of them had run out of batter to use.

Soren: Alright…now for the taste test.

Ren: I shall grab the syrup.

Soren: Oh no you don't, I know for a fact you're going to use all the syrup before I can add it to mine and therefore take away from the flavor!

Ren: …

Ren leaped for the syrup as Soren grabbed his legs sending them both crashing to the floor. Ren gripped the counter and grabbed the syrup before rushing to the plates as Soren chased him. They both came to a grinding halt and both gave shocked expressions as they looked at two empty plates with Nora sucking her fingers before looking at both of them and grabbing the syrup from Ren's hand and skipping away.

Soren and Ren: …'whimper'.

Both Ren and Soren collapsed to the ground in defeat before an empty bottle of Syrup bounced off of Soren's head.

Pillow Warfare

Soren, Alice and Lily all sat in the library enjoying their individual reading choices with Soren reading a Camp Camp comic while Alice read The Man with Two Souls she had borrowed from Blake and Lily was enjoying a book of Remnant Fairytales. Gareth slid in front of all three of them catching their attention.

Gareth: Guys! I just learned about a new type of pillow fighting from Ruby!

Soren: Pillow fighting?

Alice: Aren't we a little old for that?

Gareth: Not by Team RWBY standards! Now come on! We've got to try this!

All three of them shrugged before closing their books and following Gareth to wherever he was leading them.

An hour later the scene shifted to the ballroom where three different pillow forts were set up with random pillows scattered across the floor. At one base Ruby spied out of the top of it with a pair of binoculars and squinted across the room at Gareth who glared back at her before sliding down to the base of the fort where Soren, Alice and Lily were waiting.

Gareth: Alright! Right now Ruby and her group have their eyes set on us. Now we can either make an alliance with Jaune and his group or shift the focus onto them by launching an attack in their name.

Alice: This…is definitely not what I was expecting.

Soren: Ditto. But I recommend a peace treaty be formed between all three of us.

Gareth: That's the coward's way out!

Soren: No! I hear JNPR is working on a nuclear pillow and I'd rather not be on the receiving end of that attack!

Lily: I don't want to die!

Gareth: Alright then, we'll just have to break into their fort and steal it to use for ourselves!

Nora: Alright! Time to meet your makers!

Everyone moved to the top of their forts to see Nora holding a giant pillow that looked ready to burst from the amount of feathers stuffed into it.

Lily: Seems we're a bit late on that plan.

Nora: We demand your total surrender or we shall unleash the nuclear pillow upon the battle field.

Weiss: That's insane! You'd be blown up along with us!

Nora: We're willing to take that risk!

Jaune: NO WE'RE NOT!

Ren: She's taken complete control of the army.

Pyrrha: Just do what she says!

Ruby and her team huddled together and chattered for a minute before looking back to Nora.

Ruby: We're willing to negotiate.

Gareth: Well I'm not!

Alice: Gareth, shut up!

Gareth: We either win or die!

Nora: That's what I like to hear! Bonzai!

Nora threw the pillow at the center of the room and as it bounced off the ground at exploded form the seams and sent a cloud of feathers that hit everyone in the room sending them flying backwards and into the wall. When it finally stopped everyone slumped to the ground with collective groans as Nora got up and gave a hearty laugh.

Nora: Let's do that again!

Everyone: NO!

Nightly Rituals

Soren and Weiss stood in front of the bathroom mirror and grabbed their toothbrushes before reaching for their toothpastes and brushed their teeth before gargling and spitting into the sink.

Alice: Hurry up you two!

Alice stood by the door tapping her foot impatiently as Soren and Weiss could be heard scrambling to finish up before both stumbling out the door.

Soren: There, better?

Alice looked both of them up in down with a cold stare as she saw Weiss was wearing Soren's simple pajamas of gray shirt and shorts while Soren was wearing Weiss's sleeping gown.

Alice: …You might want to try that again.

They both looked at each other before screaming and rushing back into the bathroom.

Alice: 'sigh'…Idiots.

Goodnight

As Soren laid down in his sleeping bag he watched as Alice, Gareth and Lily did the same and team RWBY laid down in their beds.

Soren: Goodnight Ruby.

Ruby: Goodnight Soren. Goodnight Weiss.

Weiss: Goodnight Ruby. Goodnight Alice.

Alice: Goodnight Weiss. Goodnight Blake.

Blake: Goodnight Alice. Goodnight Gareth.

Gareth: Goodnight Blake. Goodnight Yang.

Yang: Goodnight Blake. Goodnight Soren.

Soren: Goodnight Yang.

Mary: Goodnight everyone.

Everyone shot up from their beds and looked at where the voice originated to see a girl with green hair waving to them before slumping back in their beds.

Soren: Goodnight Mary.

Everyone shot up again after realizing that she wasn't supposed to be there to see an empty corner where she had been standing. Brushing it off they all rolled back over and fell asleep as the sound of female giggling filled the quiet air ending the night.


	26. Owe-

"They're coming our way" I watched as Soren and his friends stepped out of the world of Remnant and disappeared into the void between dimensions. I turned around to Sukia, Shapeshifter and the Gemini Twins; Shapeshifter seemed to jitter in place excitedly and I could guess why, the Gemini twins continued to look at me with their usual blank stare; Sukia was the odd one out, she looked down and to the right as she rubbed her arm…

"So what are we going to do?" I turned to my left to see Jarek enter the room and felt my arm tingle as I looked at him.

"Ngh…now we have to prepare, everyone go get ready. They'll be here shortly and I refuse to let them stop us!" They all nodded and walked away. As they turned to leave I felt a sense of nostalgia wash over me as I looked at the four of them and Jarek. Reaching into my cloak I took out a small black VCR tape and placed it into the player; it was followed by a screen of static until I saw Nina sitting under the castles courtyard tree…our tree.

"Huh? Where did you find that?" Nina asked looking at the camera.

"Flonne gave it to me. She said I could borrow it for a little bit so I thought I would have a little fun." The me in the video said, "Now why don't you introduce yourself?" She giggled in response.

"Alright then. I'm Nina Reist from Earth and I enjoy spending time with Owen, Sukia, Shifty and the twins Gemi and Nini." Reaching out her hands she grabbed the camera and pointed it at me, "Now it's your turn." I chuckled scratching the back of my head, "Come on…if you do I'll give you a kiss."

"Fine…names Owen Richards. I enjoy adventure, protecting others and spending time with Nina Reist for the rest of my life." Nina laughed at my proclamation and I looked away embarrassed.

"A little bold there Owen?"

"What? You don't think-"

"No, I know. Now come over here and sit down with me for a bit. Tomorrow we have to head to Celestia."

"Alright." The video cut back to static and I felt a tear run down my face as my fists shook.

My name is Owen Richards and all I wanted…no…no! I won't let my story be summed up so quickly…it's too important to be reduced to a small moment…this is my story…and it will be told in full!


End file.
